


(don't you know? talking about a revolution) auditum parvum

by MercurialComet



Series: mihail-verse [3]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Byleth Has Lived Before, Canon-Typical Prejudice, Character Progression: The Fic, Character Study, Dancer Dedue Molinaro, Dedue Molinaro and the Very Big Secret he has in Abyss Right Now, Dedue Molinaro-centric, Diplomacy, Duscur Worldbuilding, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Genocide, Ingrid Recieves Consequences?, Original Duscur Characters, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Dedue Molinaro, Secrets, Teenagers, Tournament Arc!!!, Yes We're Battling Crest Supremacy Get In Losers, betting pools
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-11-21
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:20:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 89,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23272375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MercurialComet/pseuds/MercurialComet
Summary: Dedue is tired. And when laymen turn into logicians, and he's reunited with some old friends, Duscur will be reborn out of the ashes that the Kingdom forced it into.Aka, I try to attempt a Dedue-centric fic instead of a Fodlan/Faerghus oriented idea of a Dedue-centric fic.
Relationships: Ashe Duran | Ashe Ubert & Dedue Molinaro, Dedue Molinaro & Bernadetta von Varley, Dedue Molinaro & Mihail Vessyl, Dedue Molinaro & Original Character(s), Dedue Molinaro & The Black Eagles, Dorothea Arnault & Dedue Molinaro, Sylvain Jose Gautier & Dedue Molinaro, The Duscis Eight
Series: mihail-verse [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1531958
Comments: 42
Kudos: 50





	1. Incipere

**Author's Note:**

> hey, here's what i said I would write.
> 
> Friendly note. This fic is going to be in 4, maybe 5 parts: Pre-game, White Clouds, ???, War Phase, and maybe an Epilogue.
> 
> Right now I have Pre-Game done, and a chapter or two of White Clouds. So the upload schedule is probably gonna be a chapter every two weeks.
> 
> I have an explanation for different choices I made in the story in the bottom note, but if you want to ask me further questions, leave a comment or hit up my tumblr: mercurialcomet.
> 
> Have fun.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> incipio, incipere, incepi, incipetus - to begin, to start.

Dedue is tired. Down to his bones. He barely registers Dimitri guiding him into the castle, away from Duscur, from home, from-

"And who is this? A brute from Duscur?"

"He's my age. How could we murder people who had nothing to do with… that event."

"He's still a part of that group. We kicked out the scum, and the ones we could trust are-"

Dedue doesn't pay that much attention as he stands there. There's not much to pay attention to, in his head. Faerghus is gray and stone, a pale imitation of the many different bricks and mortars that his cousin Jule would make.

In the end, Dedue keeps to himself long enough for him to be able to be in a room alone. If you ignored the guard posted outside. Dimitri said that he was working on getting everyone in the castle to treat him better. Dedue thinks it's too late for that, considering the circumstances.

He'll manage. He says it in his prayers and hopes that Terra is listening.

* * *

The next few months are a blur. Dedue eats, sleeps, trains with Dimitri, and reads. The prince seems to think that he needs to be taught the tongue of Fodlan, so Dedue indulges him, only using it to expand his vocabulary from functional to fluent.

He's careful when he's saying his prayers in Duscis, the words foreign to everyone else's ears and sparking danger towards him. He says that he can teach them the basics, but no one wants to listen.

Not listening to others seems to be a cultural staple. The few times that Dedue had found himself behind Dimitri were in rooms and halls where men argued and refused to compromise, always a test of wills, a duel of words. He internally smiles when he remembers one of the small tricks that Mihail taught him: "Let people talk for a long time when they're arguing. At some point in time, they will talk against themselves."

Many people talk against themselves. Not many people catch it when it happens. It delays everything.

* * *

He actually meets Sylvain while he's out by the stables, not-so forcefully banished from the castle at this moment. They speak, and Dedue finds himself again wondering how someone could be both so cheerful and carefree, yet calculating and cold. It is there, next to one of the prized stallions, that he learns about Crests.

Crests are said to be manifestations of the Goddess, Fodlan's one deity. Dedue still has trouble thinking about that. How is one figure supposed to take care of so much? She must be awfully tired to even exist. But, Crests are the one way that she is able to pass her power down to the people. Sylvain parrots all of this with sarcasm that is at least twice his age, and Dedue finds himself worried about the red-haired teen.

He meets Felix when they spar for the first time, his sword blade quick and uncaring about seriously harming his opponent. Dedue gets a closer look at the culture of chivalry and knighthood through the Fraldarius, and what he sees explains a lot about the behaviors of the world he finds himself in.

The argument between Felix and the Duke is a mostly private one, but it belies everything that scares him about putting those values above everything else. Their arguments are disjointed and so are his thoughts. Somewhere, in the back of his mind, he hears a mournful whisper that says that he's far too young to deal with this.

It's at that moment that he realizes that he's 15. His birthday was yesterday.

He meets Ingrid during a small party that Dimitri manages to throw together for Dedue's late birthday. Their smiles are forced and small, his own out of awkwardness and anxiety at all of the attention he's being shown.

She appears after Sylvain tries to drag some of the tension out of him. "So, you're Dedoo?"

She messes up his name. She only makes the sound of the "u" in the last part of his name when it's closer to "way". He tries to tell her:

"I am sorry, but my name is Dedue."

She frowns. "Oh. That's kind of strange, isn't it?"

Everything here is strange to him, why should he have to worry about what is strange to her? But Dedue sees the few nobles along the walls of the room keeping a close eye on him and internally sighs. "I guess it could be strange."

"What's strange?" Dimitri asks, ever the socially awkward person that he is.

"Oh, Dedoo's name." Ingrid says.

"That's-" Dimitri starts to say, but Dedue sees the gleam in the eyes of the nobles and at that moment, decides he abhors Faerghus.

"It's alright," he lies, waiting for his mother to come rinse his mouth out with soap. "Would it be alright if I teach you all how to say 'Happy Birthday?' in Duscis?"

Sylvain and Dimitri are interested, and Felix looks as apathetic as he usually does. Ingrid looks like she's trying to swallow a whole fruit without chewing, but goes along with her friends.

They get through the sentence. It's rough, but soon, the four are able to stammer through, " _Dies felix natalis."_

Dimitri thinks it's really impersonal. "How do we tell this to a person?"

Dedue smiles. "You just simply say their name at the end. _Dies felix natalis, Dimitri."_

"Uh, hold up," Sylvain says, "It's not his birthday, it's yours. _Dies felix natalis, Dedue."_

Felix grumbles out the words, but they're audible and surprisingly coherent. Dimitri stumbles with the order of the words, but he gets there in the end, and the sincerity of his words is very touching.

It takes a while before Ingrid is goaded into saying the words, but when she does, she spits them out like they're burning her mouth, her words quick and not too friendly. " _Dies felix natalis,_ Dedoo."

Dedue lets it slide like water off of a duck's back. Everyone else chooses to ignore Ingrid's demeanor. His already poor birthday party continues past the slight. It ends with the memory of his house burning to the ground.

* * *

He's humming a song to himself, the whimsical melody of a folk song he remembers, when he sees the broken down greenhouse. He brings it up to Dimitri the next time they see each other.

"I think that funds were moved for fundraising when it came to the training of more knights," he says, and Dedue is reminded about the alien values upheld here. "It hasn't been in use for a while now."

Dedue looks at the space, noticing the weeds growing in the healthy soil. His mind is made up in an instant. "Would you mind if I grow some plants here?"

"No, would you require some seeds?"

Everyone says he is but a vassal, someone who is supposed to do requests for the prince, not have requests of the prince. And Dimitri is honestly just the nicer part of the power that upended his life.

But a moment of personal selfishness doesn't retract from his criticisms. "I would. Would you help me find some?"

* * *

" _Caelum, validum rei-"_ Dedue sings as he gardens, his voice steady and strong. A weed is plucked from the ground. " _videt terram." (The sky, the strongest ruler, watched the earth.)_

"What in the Goddess' name are you singing, boy?" A smashing sound accompanied the snarl as Dedue turned to face a group of angry men. The one in the front of the group pointed an angry finger at him. "You aren't casting any curses here, are you?"

"No, sir." Dedue said, keeping eye contact with him. "I am not proficient with magic."

"He's not proficient with good magic!" Someone in the group shouts. "Magic from the Goddess! He's probably used to some blood magic!"

"Yeah!" Another says, the group starting to get riled up. Dedue calmly puts his tools away, slowly backing away from the men. "The same type of dastardly magic found on the King's body!"

"He's lying!"

"He was probably a part of it!"

"You can't trust this scum!"

"Even if he did know magic, he wouldn't give it up! Those dastards are greedy and selfish!"

The shouts become louder and louder, ideas and beliefs more insane and villainous. The group has started to take steps forward and Dedue has almost made it to the other door when the next words send a chill down his back.

"Let's teach him a lesson."

* * *

Dedue has never run faster in his life. Not that he can remember anyway. His lungs are fighting to keep him breathing, and his legs are pumping to keep him safe.

* * *

In the end, the men cower under Dimitri's disappointment. "Dedue is a guest here. Would you attack a guest in the castle?"

"With all due respect Your Highness," one man says, the one that called him a witch doctor, "brutes from Duscur will never be guests to us."

Dedue's tongue moves before he can silence it. "What has a Duscis person ever done to you? Why do you believe we slaughtered the King?"

"Silence, dastard!" The group becomes rowdy again. "How dare you even speak of the King after you and yours slaughtered him and his family!"

Dimitri is working to quiet them down, and a few of the nobles in the room give half-hearted shows of support. Dedue watches as the meeting continues, and even though Dimitri pushes for the men to be punished, they are all told that they must lay off of drinking.

Dedue is told to act better, and that the greenhouse is just a privilege afforded to him, not a right. He wonders if he has any rights here. If anyone does, in the end.

He leaves the room, and that is the day he realizes he has to be the brick wall that Faerghus will try to break. He cries once that night in his prayers before he goes to bed.

* * *

He's standing behind Dimitri again at the prince's birthday party. Sylvain is the only person who is upbeat and smiling for the whole day. Dimitri acts like he sees spirits, Felix is almost always ready to jump down someone's throat, and Ingrid only joins the conversation to admonish someone.

At one point in time, during the meal, Dedue makes eye contact with Dimitri and sees sadness and boredom. So he smiles and says, " _Dies felix natalis, Dimitri."_

Dimitri smiles and the room silences itself. Dedue turns in his seat and sees everyone looking at him. The voice of a noble drifts over the air. "Your Highness, why did this dog say your name like he has the right to?"

"Dedue is a friend of mine, and I will not take insults against him lightly" Dimitri says, turning to face the noble. "Besides, I have told everyone here that they could call me Dimitri."

"But is it proper for him to speak in that tongue?" Another person asks, and Dedue is both aware of how he's effectively been iced out of the conversation about himself, and the disdain on the noble's face.

Sylvain chuckles, a darker sound than usual. "That's kind of rude, isn't it? Imagine being told you couldn't speak your language anymore."

"I don't know," Ingrid says, "he is here now. Not many people know that tongue, so maybe it's better for him to not speak it."

Dimitri looks angry. "This is ridiculous. Dedue was just wishing me a happy birthday, is that so wrong?"

"Your Highness," a sneering voice says, and the man who accompanies it stands up. "As someone who is in constant contact with the people of Duscur, I can say everything in their tongue is pure savagery."

Felix doesn't seem like he cares, Ingrid gives a small nod, Sylvain raises an eyebrow, and Dimitri stands up, the table groaning under the weight of his fist on it.

"That is enough, Kleiman. You are out of line." He says. "Besides, we have had many musicians from Duscur over in my youth, and their songs were always so wonderful, even when sung in a different tongue."

The words feel like a backhanded compliment. Adrista's voice slides into Dedue's head: "If the only thing someone can say to an insult of your character is your actions, then they don't bother to think of your character."

* * *

That night, Dedue is awakened by the sound of the stone floor shifting. There's no weapon in his room that he can use to defend himself, so he watches in tension as a head of red hair pops up from the floor. "Hey, are you alright?"

Dedue shrugs. "I could be better."

"Yeah," Sylvain says, a bitter laugh in the quiet night escaping him. "I get that. Sorry for not speaking up more today, but my dad was there and-"

"I get it."

Dedue does, sadly, have a good understanding of how things work in Faerghus now, after being here for at least a year's time.

"Yeah." Sylvain slumps down in the empty bed frame, suddenly looking so much older than he was. "You know, I'm the heir to the Gautier estate."

"Are you? What about your older brother?" Dedue knows about the existence of both Sylvain's slick speech and older brother, and it's not that he doesn't trust him (he doesn't), but he just wants to see how much Sylvain will say.

"He doesn't have a Crest. I do," Sylvain says. "I hate the damn thing, but because I have it, the person who has been practicing his whole life for the title gets shoved out of it."

"That makes no sense. If he already was ready to lead, why stop him because of something outside of his control?" Again, the odd culture of Faerghus seems to destroy more than it protects.

"He doesn't have a Crest," Sylvain repeats, as if it's supposed to make sense when you hear it more than once. It doesn't. "That's just how it works. It's dumb, right?"

It is. Dedue is curious about how dumb it could be. "How do you even get a Crest?"

"You're born with it. If one of your parents has a Crest, then the odds that you have a Crest are better," Sylvain explains, and Dedue can see a death grip on the bed frame. "So, people generally tend to want partners with Crest. I already have a few proposals to look through."

"Proposals?" Dedue is shocked. "You're 17. You're not even an adult yet, why are you being proposed to?"

"Noble women want the connection to Gautier. It's the lowest hanging fruit, and I'm seen as the lowest of that."

"Still, you're too young to be led to marriage. That's-" Dedue falls silent before he says something that changes Sylvain's opinion of him. "Are you safe back in Gautier?"

"I can get out of wells quickly now, so I should be fine," Sylvain says. "I'm good enough with a lance to disengage often against Miklan and his crew."

Dedue sees red, even in the low light of the moon through one of the windows. "Does your father not do anything about this? It sounds like you're being hurt."

Sylvain's eyes widen. "No, he doesn't know about it. Don't tell him either."

"Sylvain. By your own words, your brother throws you down wells and attacks you unprovoked-"

"It's not unprovoked!" Sylvain jumps to his feet, glaring at Dedue. "I understand why he hates me! He's just upset about what happened in the family!"

"So, he can be upset and try to harm you for it?" Dedue rises to the challenge verbally, not raising his voice or getting out of his bed. "Why don't the two of you try to work together? Both of you run Gautier's land?"

"It doesn't work like tha-"

"Make it work like that!"

There is silence after Dedue snaps at Sylvain. He looks the redhead directly in the eye and finds himself wondering how deep is everything buried and how well made the locks are to the window of his spirit. He doesn't know what shows in his own right now.

Sylvain angrily huffs and turns away, quickly leaving the room. Dedue is grateful that there are no guards outside his room now, so this talk can only remain in the air it lived in.

He says another prayer before he goes to sleep. This one goes to The Wisemen instead of Tellus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright:
> 
> Dedue is starting to build up his stoic personality that we see in game. He just had to deal with his home and family being attacked, being brought away from Duscur, and being treated harshly by others. So, when reaching out is met with half-measures and hostility, he's gonna start to look at Faerghus with a hidden side-eye. He can't be open about what he actually wants to say, so he has to excercise some restraint and build some sort of rapport with those who will let him. 
> 
> Also, I 100% think that people would mispronounce Dedue's name and also think he dumbed it down for them. However, in this fic, he hasn't. So it's De-dway. (Which goes into the minor point that Duscis is Latin. So I hope you know your non-english vowels and remember that c and g are always their harder sounds.)
> 
> Dimitri means well, but he really can't do much about it thanks to his position in Faerghus culture. This will be explored throughout the fic.
> 
> Sylvain is probably the least harmful offender, but he is an offender nonetheless. Again, just laying the groundwork.
> 
> Felix is just aloof and standoffish. He heats up later.
> 
> Ingrid is probably going to be openly and subtly antagonistic throughout this whole fic. She may grow to be (slightly) civil, but since no one will call her out and make her learn, she won't. And she sure as hell won't respect Dedue's name.
> 
> Adrista and Mihail are some of Dedue's childhood friends, with Adrista being a few weeks older and Mihail one year younger. In total, there was a squad of 6. The other three get mentioned later in the fic.


	2. Esse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sum, esse, fui, fuit - to be

Dedue is now training against newly knighted recruits in the Kingdom's Army. He isn't bad when it comes to using a lance after the time he's spent under Dimitri's eye, but the grip he has on it still feels foreign and unlike the axes that he's more used to.

He hears Dimitri cheer for him and there is an odd spike of feelings that he necessarily doesn't want to think about right now as he blocks a swing from his sparring partner. His counter strike with the butt of his lance is quick. He rolls out of the way when the soldier angrily makes a wild swing in retaliation.

"Hey! Don't let your emotions ruin your service to the Crown!" an instructor shouts. The soldier grunts and nods. "Now switch out, let someone else spar with him."

"Yes, sir!" The recruit moves away and a new one takes his place, this one wielding an ax. Dedue gives a curt nod of respect before the recruit rushes forward, the ax blade reflecting the torchlight in the room.

The first swing misses wildly, and Dedue can tell that this man was not paying attention when they were focusing on form. So does the instructor. "Hughes, switch weapons with him! Maybe you'll actually have a better form if you have a longer reach!"

Hughes grumbles as he holds out the ax. Dedue holds out the lance and doesn't even flinch when it's ripped out of his hand. He takes the ax and steps back, twirling it to test the balance.

When the lance thrusts, Dedue simply side steps it and gets in the recruit's face to tap him with the flat of the ax. Hughes backpedals and does a wide swing, catching Dedue in the gut with the shaft of the weapon. The air leaves Dedue's lungs and he has enough presence of mind to twist away before Hughes tries to pull the blade through his armor.

He remains on the defensive as a second swing comes, sweeping it upward and throwing Hughes off-balance enough to shoulder check and trip him.

"Hughes! That's embarrassing, losing to this dog-" Dedue tunes out as the instructor berates the recruit, knowing that many insults about him are being said. He comes back to reality in time to hear the dismissal of everyone, noticing the speed at which all of the weapons were put on their respective racks. He quickly puts away his ax and catches up to Dimitri waiting for him outside the Knights Hall.

The blond's face lights up at the sight of him. "Dedue!"

"Dimitri." He nods back, a small smile on his face. "I hope I did well."

"You did! You were amazing," Dimitri says as he leads the way back to the throne room, not far from where they were. "You fight like a true knight."

"Now now, let's not go too far in our praise," another voice says, and Dedue internally groans as he sees Lady Cornelia and Ingrid walking down the hall towards them. "Dedoo may have won his spar, but he did gratefully injure that poor man he tripped."

"Oh." Dimitri's face falls and Dedue can't believe that this one achievement is about to be marred. "With all due respect, Lady Cornelia, are you sure? I thought I saw the man get up and walk away quite well."

"Dimitri," Ingrid interjects, staring down Dedue, "He was physically alright, but mentally eviscerated. Can you imagine losing to a person who doesn't deserve to be here-"

"That's enough, Ingrid. I'm tired of you insulting Dedue like that-"

"That's not even how you pronounce his name! It's Dedoo-"

Dedue watches as the two friends go at it, Cornelia making halfhearted attempts to stop them. He is aware that to step in right now would be to cut Dimitri's credit and throw himself out of the castle and onto many blades.

"Stand down Ingrid! That's an order from your Prince!"

"Yes, Your Highness."

But it's painful to watch bridges be burned in real time.

* * *

Felix truly hates Dimitri. That is obvious to every living being who sees the two interact, be they human, bird, or even insect. The fact that the two have to interact often makes this even clearer.

Dimitri makes a comment about it after Felix leaves with his father one day. "Do you think he blames me?"

Dedue is thrown by the question, but he tries not to let it show. "What would he blame you for?"

"His brother's death. During the Tragedy."

"Oh." There is silence as the information is digested. Dedue clears his throat. "I think that he might connect you to the event, but he doesn't choose to hate you." He chooses to forget to tell Dimitri that Felix sneered at the both of them when his back was turned. Or that he has started calling Dedue a dog.

Dimitri sighs. "I'm glad it isn't a conscious choice. It would be sad to have an old friend abhor me."

And Dedue is now reminded about how many people hate him now. It is not a lovely feeling.

* * *

"I hereby call this meeting to order!"

"Thank you, Your Highness," a noble says, standing up and nodding towards Dimitri. "May your reign be long and healthy. Gentlemen, I come bearing news along the Sreng border."

"Say your piece, Margrave Gautier."

"The force attacking the border is dwindling down. Now, they are only attacking after our defensive maneuvers. I am simply asking for some more funds when it comes to the protection of our people."

"I believe that's a reasonable cause," another noble states, crossing his arms. "Do you have records of the budget that you wish for?"

"They should have been given to the Crown. If not, let it be known that I am asking for about an extra thousand gold a moon, split evenly over the four weeks." The redhead takes a seat, and after a few rounds of deliberation, the motion passes, and another noble stands up to repeat the process.

Many motions and plans get debated during the course of many hours. Dedue allows himself to ignore the words being said, focusing on the muted colors that mark the different houses of Faerghus. He refocuses on the meeting when a man in dark lavender stands up to make his own declaration.

"Viscount Kleiman," Dimitri says, "What proposal do you have for the court?"

"Thank you for the introduction, Your Highness." Kleiman nods respectfully before he started speaking. "First, I would like to remind everyone about the reward of a thousand gold pieces towards to the return of the Duscur Ambassador's son."

"Who cares about some bastard kid-"

Dedue feels like his heart is stabbed through with a sword as the words hit him. _The return of the Duscur Ambassador's son. The son of the Duscur Ambassadors. Puer legatorum Duscis. Mihail-_

"-and I'm asking for a few more men to help me corral these rowdy cavaliers from running me off of my new land." Kleiman takes his seat after he finishes speaking.

"And where is that land exactly, Governor?" another person asked, looking directly at Dedue. "Last I heard, it was some filthy village past the mountains."

_Mihail is missing and other Duscis are being driven away from their homes-_

"If we don't mind," Dimitri starts, and Dedue can see in the hopeful gleam in his eye that he thinks he has a great idea, "I believe we should ask Dedue for his opinion on the matter, seeing that it regards his people."

All eyes in the room turn to Dedue and for the smallest moment, a spike a hatred shoots throughout his entire system. How dare they pass by the disappearance of his friend, how dare they say they have to corral people like cattle, how dare they call one of his cities "filthy", how dare Dimitri force him to become a spokesperson for all Duscis like he is _Legatus Duscis_ , how dare-

"I would wish that you have a more open and peaceful hand when it comes to the treatment of Duscur," Dedue finds himself saying, his traitorous tongue skipping over every insult in both languages that he wants to hurl at these men, at their families, at the entirety of Faerghus for the position he's in right now-

"Those are very wise words. Thank you." Dimitri's grin feels like glass in his stomach as he sees it. The prince faces the room again. "I suggest we hold back on the use of soldiers and instead send a convoy of peace to the region, Viscount. Are there any other questions?"

Kleiman shoots a look of fury at Dedue before he respectfully smiles and nods towards Dimitri. "None, Your Highness. Thank you for hearing me out."

* * *

"So," Sylvain starts, having snuck out to get into Dedue's room that night. "Dimitri threw you down the well today, huh?"

Dedue raises an eyebrow at his words. "You could say that. It's an odd choice of words, though."

"It is," Sylvain says, rubbing the back of his head. "It's nice to laugh about things sometimes. To get over them. Everybody does it."

Dedue lets it drop, staying quiet. Mihail's words rattle in his head, and the smirk that came with them is pushed to the forefront of his brain.

"Although, I don't think you do that," Sylvain says, facing Dedue. "I think you're just a brick wall. Everything bounces off you. It's strange."

Dedue can catch the slight reverence in Sylvain's voice and feels pity for the older child. "I don't have the same options you have," he says, and Sylvain's eyebrows display his confusion. "Most people here already view me as a threat. To be more obvious about my emotions would be to drive a weapon through my own skull."

Sylvain's face falls. "Oh. So we're both stuck in the same boat. To be truthful is to be dead."

Dedue can't hide his shock at the sudden slice of pessimism, and his whole body recoils from it. "That's not true."

"Really? Are you sure?" Sylvain challenges. "Because if you can't talk about the harshness against your people, and I can't talk about how my own brother tries to kill me, where does that put us?" he scoffs, and the room is quiet.

Dedue thinks he's starting to get why Sylvain is so willing to talk to him about this: he's looking for kinship in misery. Crests ruined his life, and the Crown that supports Crests ruined Dedue's. Dedue isn't sure if he's suddenly meant to comfort Sylvain, but something about the idea pushes him back even further away from the redhead, the sheer notion that he has to comfort a stranger with power over him without even agreeing to it goes against the ideals of community he grew up with.

The thought that Faerghus doesn't have a strong attachment to community dances in his head for a few seconds. "It makes us people who can choose to work together," he starts, staring Sylvain in the eye, "as equals. If you come to me every night, you must defend me in public. If I help you here, I will help you with your brother if I'm able to."

The redhead thinks about it, his face passive, but his eyes sparking with refound hope. "I'll take it."

* * *

He sees Ingrid when he steps into the kitchens to get Dimitri an apple. She looks miserable as she's trying to cook, the head cook behind her trying to encourage as best as she could. "Think about how happy your future husband will be!" she exclaims. Ingrid grimaces as she's mixing together a batter.

Dedue remains silent as he steps closer, not wanting to make her even more nervous. He lightly clears his throat to get the cook's attention. "Dimitri wants an apple to snack on," he quietly announces.

"Oh!" The cook's eyes light up, and she makes her way over to the store and pulls out a couple of apples. She hands them over to Dedue, and as he takes them, she leans forward and whispers, "Now, I'm not supposed to hand out snacks all willy-nilly, but one of those apples is yours if you come back to taste Lady Galatea's cake for me." She gives him a small, thin-lipped smile. "Goddess knows I'm far too old to be poisoned and survive."

* * *

The cake is disgusting. It is so bad Dedue would be afraid to use it as plant fertilizer. But he doesn't know how to tell Ingrid this without her blowing up on him.

Ingrid just angrily sighs and glares at him before he can even open his mouth. "It's garbage, isn't it? I baked it to remind me of you."

"Ouch," Dedue deadpans, taking another bite of the cake in spite. "I think it's a bit too bitter to be me. More like dirt instead of coffee."

She screams and stomps out of the room. The cook gives Dedue a somewhat apologetic glance. She whispers her thanks as she takes the rest of the cake to the waste bin. Dedue wonders about why Ingrid would attempt to cook when her heart clearly wasn't in it and why she grimaced at the future husband comment earlier.

He leaves, unable to find an answer for his questions and a way to get the taste out of his mouth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On sparring with the Kingdom Soldiers: I think it's self-explanatory, but this is just vassal training. 
> 
> Cornelia has a plan. Ingrid is just a pawn. This is an interaction built for Dimitri.
> 
> Felix is still not gonna have a fucking word in this fic, I forbid it right now.
> 
> Noble Meetings and The Politics of it All. This is also just a show of one of the many (well-meaning) ways that Dimitri is practically throwing Dedue under the bus. Also we meet Governer Kleiman, who is canonically the closest to Duscur and probably has political and financial reasons to try and colonize the land.
> 
> Sylvain and His Many Issues, Take 2.
> 
> Ingrid can't cook.


	3. Rogare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> rogo, rogare, rogavi, rogatum - to ask.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey there, sorry i'm late. in apologies i'll post another chapter tomorrow/later today.
> 
> have fun and please comment. i'm lonely.

The climate of Faerghus is a static, cold, and dreary thing. Dedue could leave his town in Central Duscur to go visit friends and family at the coast, and his sister would complain about the change in humidity. Southern Duscur was more arid with the mountains blocking them from Faerghus' constant rain. The differences in weather kept a diversity of crops alive, and the relatively small size of the country helped keep travel light and food fresh.

It's very difficult to keep those conditions in an unsupported greenhouse, but he tries his best, and after months of work, flowers are blooming and different vegetables are ready to be eaten. It's his greatest achievement, and he nearly sobs as he picks a ripe tomato.

"Wow!" Dimitri's voice startles him, and he nearly drops the tomato, turning to face the prince. "That is amazing! How much are they worth?"

"Uh-" Dedue's brain freezes as he turns to face the prince. "What will you give me?"

Dimitri's brow furrows. "Three hundred gold? Four hundred?"

Gold wouldn't do Dedue any good when no one would take it from him. "Let us try something else," he says, and a blond eyebrow rises. "I will give you a crop for every question you answer. Does that work?"

"Well, yes, but is no one telling you anything? I told them to keep you up to date-" Dedue places a head of lettuce in an empty basket before putting it in Dimitri's hands.

"I just want to hear it in your own words, from you," he explains, and the smile on Dimitri's face makes him feel better about his decision. "Are you ready?"

Dimitri nods. Dedue places another head of lettuce in the basket. "Dedue, you don't have to-"

"I want to uphold my promises. How was your day today?"

"It was lovely." A tomato this time. "Yours?"

"It is well. What is it like to be Prince?" Dedue has enough produce to waste a few questions, and he is truly concerned about Dimitri's well-being.

"It is-" Dimitri pauses, looking down at the ground. "It is rather lonely. I miss talking to people as equals. Too many people are afraid of hurting my feelings."

Dedue places another piece of produce as Dimitri speaks. "Do you include me in that group?"

"I do not," Dimitri says confidently, looking at Dedue's face. "Am I wrong in doing so?"

"Not really. I just can not tell you everything in public due to people's feelings about Duscur." Dedue matches the look. "Speaking of Duscur, how are the Ambassadors doing?"

Dimitri's eyes widened quickly. "Dedue," he starts, and a feeling of dread runs through him like a tremor. "The Duscur Ambassadors were riding with us during the Tragedy. They didn't make it."

It takes a few moments for the news to really hit Dedue. When it does, it hits like a mountain's fist. "The Vessyl family is gone?"

"Not everyone in it. After we were run off the road, I saw the son get out and run for it." The silence is heavy in the room as Dimitri speaks. "He was the only one quick enough to react to it all."

"That sounds like Mihail," Dedue says. "He regularly raced his cousin whenever the two of them saw each other."

"He sounds amazing. I hope I get to meet him again, without the weight of official duties," Dimitri puts a hand on Dedue's shoulder. Dedue knows it's supposed to be comforting, but it feels more invasive than anything else. He places some produce in the basket. "Dedue-"

"Does Ingrid always act the way she does?" Dedue asks, not just to cut Dimitri off from making an honest error, but also out of curiosity. How does Dimitri see his friends?

"She has always been protective of us, although that protectiveness has increased since the Tragedy," Dimitri admits. "The death of Glenn hit her and Felix really hard."

"Glenn?"

"Felix's brother. He was the youngest knight to ever be a part of the Royal Guard," Dimitri says. "He had a long life in front of him. Loyal knight, Ingrid's fiancee-"

Dedue can not believe what he heard. "They were engaged? Why?"

Dimitri sighs. "When Ingrid was born, House Galatea was going through rough times. They had split from House Daphnel and Leicester, and their financial status was wavering. They were practically on the verge of collapse."

"So, a few years later it was decided that Ingrid and Glenn be wed for political support?"

"Yes, but your timing is wrong. It was around Ingrid's birth that the two were engaged."

"What. That's so young."

"Her father was hoping that marrying into the Fraldarius line would support their house, especially with Ingrid bearing the Crest of Daphnel. It was just bad luck that Glenn died."

Dedue picks the rest of the plants and places the produce in the basket. "I am sorry to hear that," he says with an even tone. "Thank you for being so open with me."

Dimitri nodded, picking up the basket. "It is no issue." As he turned to leave, Dedue could see the slight difference in his shoulders. And he now wonders how long it may have been since Dimitri could speak openly about personal matters.

* * *

Dedue turns 16 a moon later. It's a quiet affair, with his cake a small and flat sweetbread that the cook smuggled him. " _Dies felix natalis, te,"_ he whispers to himself as he hides in the greenhouse in between his time as Dimitri's vassal.

He reflects about what he's learned during his time in Faerghus. Sylvain sneaks around the castle and the land, Felix attacks so he doesn't have to defend, Ingrid sticks to a past that isn't viable, and Dimitri-

"Um, how do you say happy birthday in your tongue again?"

"Your Highness, you do not have to try to please the-"

"I want to. Dedue?"

Dimitri has a good heart. And Faerghus doesn't seem to like good hearts.

" _Dies felix natalis."_

* * *

Dimitri has a good heart, but by Terra he's also very naive. "The weeds do not give you what you need to live, Dimitri."

A noble elbows Dedue in anger. Dedue barely feels it. "It is 'Your Highness' to you."

Dedue looks forward as he speaks. "Your Highness, I believe that someone cares more for your titles than they do for your health. Do you wish to speak to them?"

"I do." Dimitri turns around and Dedue watches as Dimitri scolds the man for a few moments as the carriage continues to move, the previous discussion thankfully forgotten.

* * *

Sylvain, yet again, sneaks into Dedue's room at night. "Hey, Dedue."

Dedue rolls his eyes. "Will you ever not sneak in to my room to talk to me?"

"Nope. I think it adds charm."

"Hmm. Alright." Dedue takes the apple out of the basket Sylvain brought. "What do you want to talk about?"

* * *

The Officers Academy. Garreg Mach Monastery. Dedue is going to be forced to travel even farther away from his home as Dimitri's vassal. A whisper in the back of his mind sounds like his grandmother: "If you must go away from home, keep a sharp eye out for those who made you leave."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On Duscur Climate:I actually want to thank @shinyevonee on twitter, because she not only did the geography of Duscur, but she also did the climate, and it's amazing.
> 
> Dedue buying information with fruit: Ever since that one CR episode where Molly asked Nott, "What will you give me? Not how much gold will you give me," I have been in love with the idea of bartering for information instead of buying information. The conversation that came out of it felt more natural too.
> 
> Pour one out for the Vessyl family. In Duscis culture, it's very sad when people die because the impact of community and familiarity runs deep. Funerals are very quiet events, but people work to be more lively and involved afterwards. This id kind of shown in this chapter, but it's not shown well because Faerghus.
> 
> Dedue learns about Glenn and Galatea and decides he's heard enough.
> 
> Also, a quick summary of the childhood quartet. Plus an early version of "Please don't eat the weeds." because I really don't think that there is a way I can have the line come up organically in the academy.
> 
> Speaking of the Academy, Dedue finally learns about it thanks to Sylvain continuing to sneak in and want conversation. There are some thoughts about this, but he's going with the flow.


	4. Convenire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> convenio, convenire, conveni, conventum - to converge, to come together.

The first Blue Lion that Dedue meets is Ashe: a timid boy who seems to not mind his presence. Lonato, the noble of Gaspard Castle, has a brief double take at the sight of him, but he doesn't say anything, which is honestly a relief. As Gilbert and Lonato talk, Dedue follows Ashe and Dimitri up to Ashe's room, still standing when the other two take a seat.

"So," Ashe starts, nervously bouncing his leg, "welcome to my room, Your Highness. Dedoo."

"It is Dedue."

"Oh. I'm sorry, Dedue. That's a lovely name." Ashe seems sincere as he speaks. "I hope we'll be able to work well together."

"I pray we do as well," Dimitri says, and his smile looks like it calms the silver-haired boy's nerves. "Please, feel free to call me Dimitri. It is a pleasure to meet you."

"It's a pleasure to meet the two of you as well."

* * *

Mercedes and Annette could both be found at the Kingdom's school of magic. The name escapes Dedue, but he was interested in the idea of magic being taught through instruction rather than play like in Duscur. Bryn's fire magic was always aimed towards the sky before they could control it enough to light the stoves with it. Cibor's magic came with buzzes of lightning and thunder, sparking as he traveled over hills and through valleys. Rius' magic was cold, freezing in winter, but refreshing when they were at the coast during a hot summer day.

Mercedes' magic is undoubtedly holy, her prayers to the Goddess quickly and elegantly said as golden light swirled around her. It seems warm, but alien, and Dedue can't help but squirm a bit as the light travels around him.

"Oh." She stops casting, quickly scanning Dedue with a concerned look in her eyes. "I'm sorry, are you alright?"

Dedue nodded. "I am fine. Thank you for asking."

Mercedes leaned back into her seat, still casting concerned glances Dedue's way. Annette let out a giggle. "Mercie," she started, her voice happy and energetic, "you know your white magic is the strongest in the whole Academy! He's fine!"

"I still apologize for making you uncomfortable." Mercedes said, firm in her tone. "If there's anything I can do-"

"Relax," Dedue almost blurts out, and there's a large pause in the room before Annette starts laughing.

Her laugh is infectious, and soon everyone in the room is at least letting out a light chuckle.

* * *

Talking to Felix, Ingrid, and Sylvain is the most awkward thing that Dedue has done. Between Ingrid constantly mispronouncing his name, Sylvain awkwardly trying to not let it slip that he constantly talks to Dedue, and Felix constantly snapping at everything, Dedue just wants to leave.

"So, Garreg Mach Monastery, huh?" Sylvain says, leaning forward in his seat.

Felix scoffs. "I'm surprised that they're even going to accept the boar, much less make him a house leader."

"Felix," Ingrid scolds, "that's enough. His Highness is going to be a great house leader. And the other three sound like decent people."

The appearance of the frazzled messenger is a blessed reprieve from this version of torture.

* * *

Dedue is picking flowers and placing bulbs in his greenhouse when Dimitri and Sylvain enter, both of them looking as frazzled as the messenger did earlier today. A quick glance at the two, both carrying worried eyes and nervous stances, causes Dedue to put everything down. "Is everything alright?"

"There's a person from Duscur in the infirmary," Sylvain says, his face flushed from running. "We went to go check on them and Dimitri just saw his face and ran all around the castle trying to find you."

Dimitri's face isn't red like Sylvain's, it's white and pale. He looks like he's seen a ghost. "It's Mihail."

"I'm sorry," Dedue says, both of their words clicking in his head. "It's who?"

"It's Mihail. He's alive still. In the infirmary," Dimitri says, and the small bushel of bulbs falls from Dedue's hand as he quickly sidesteps the two nobles in front of him, making his way to the infirmary.

* * *

Dedue nearly weeps when he sees Mihail sitting up in a bed. Years of loneliness and insults hit him in that moment, and he just stands in the doorway, staring at his childhood friend.

Mihail looks different. He's skinnier, obviously gaining back lost weight. His black hair now has a streak of green in it, one that he's braided to his scalp separately. His somewhat carefree smirk hasn't fully gone away, but it's diminished, and the glint in his eyes reveals that one of his eyes is a mint green now, starkly different from its natural brown-

" _Dedue? Estne te?"_ he asks, and Dedue almost immediately finds himself at the side of the bed. _(Dedue? Is that you?)_

" _Id est me,"_ he responds, his voice small. " _Cogitavi te-" (It's me. I thought you-)_

He quickly reacts to make sure Mihail's weight doesn't knock them both to the ground. They hug for a long moment, and any words about to be spoken drift away. It is only them right now, and for the first time in a long while, Dedue feels positive about everything.

"Hem, hem."

It's with a shattered sense of peace and irritation that Dedue looks up to see Cornelia looking expectantly at the two Duscis. He sighs internally before he stands up and nods at the woman. "Yes, Lady Cornelia?"

Cornelia seemed delighted at the use of the title. "Don't get me wrong, I would hate to break up a reunion between friends, but Mihail is still recovering from his travels."

"Then I will just sit next to him," Dedue calmly says, walking across the room to grab a chair.

Cornelia follows him. "Well, see to it that you do. And, not to be a stickler, but would you mind speaking in a way that we all understand? I need to be able to understand my patient."

Patient? When did Cornelia become the medic? "Yes, Lady Cornelia. Sorry to disturb you."

"Don't be," she says lightly, a soft smile on her face. At least, Dedue assumes it was supposed to be soft. It looks painful. "I'll give you some time."

"Thank you, ma'am," Mihail says, rubbing the back of his neck. Dedue watched as Cornelia walked away, and he was shocked at the amount of hatred in Mihail's eyes as he stared at her retreating back.

He coughs to grab his friend's attention. "Mihail? Where have you been? You weren't in Duscur before-"

"I've been busy." Mihail says, twiddling his thumbs, a clear sign that there was more that he wanted to say. "But I'm here now. I'm not leaving anytime soon."

"Good." Dedue smiles. "I missed you, you know."

Mihail sighs. It's heavy. but there's a relieved smile on his face. "I missed you too. Mind telling me what I missed?"

"Well," Dedue starts, and with minimal stops, he tells Mihail everything that he knows in Faerghus. He tells him about the events that lead to him being here, how Dimitri is working to be the new head of the Kingdom, his deal with Sylvain, Felix and Ingrid, and the reward for any information about Mihail himself.

"Do you think we could get that reward?" Mihail asks.

Dedue thinks about it for a bit, and shrugs. "Maybe? What would we spend it on?"

Mihail doesn't even blink before he speaks. "First class carriages to Duscur and actually seasoned food."

The Duscis look at each other, making direct eye contact for a few seconds before they burst into laughter. Mihail rolls away from Dedue and Dedue stands up, taking a few steps away from the bed as he laughs into his hands.

The two finish laughing soon, calming themselves down as Dimitri walks into the infirmary. "Greetings, Mihail."

" _Salve, Dimitri."_ Mihail nods, ignoring Cornelia's pointed cough. "I'm glad to see that you made it out of the ambush."

"You as well." Dimitri nods back, and Dedue feels like he's been subtly removed from the conversation. "Why were you gone for so long though? Is everything alright?"

"Everything is fine, Your Highness." Mihail puts a polite smile on his face, but Dedue can read through the diplomat-persona that he employs and knows he's hiding something. "I was just busy with some very personal matters."

"Oh. Well, I'm glad everything is in working order for you then," Dimitri says. "I actually come bearing news: As there was a reward of a bullion in regards to your safe return, I am happy to make sure that it personally reaches you."

There is a long silence in the room, and Dedue can feel his amusement creep back up his throat. Mihail looks like he's about to fall back onto his bed in laughter. "Thank you, Your Highness," he says in an even voice. "That is very kind of you. Do you know when I will be able to leave the infirmary?"

Cornelia is suddenly right beside the three boys, as if summoned by Mihail's words. "Your Highness, I think it's for the best that Mihail stays here for a while longer, just so he can comfortably rest up."

"I'm already well-rested, Lady Cornelia," Mihail says. "I've seen these same, bland walls for at least 2 days now."

"Well," Dimitri cuts in, "I actually spoke to the Royal Physician, and he says that Mihail is to be discharged today. I was thinking about giving him a room in the Ambassador's Suite-"

"If it wouldn't be too much of a bother, Your Highness," Mihail tentatively raises a finger. "I would rather room with Dedue. We have a lot to catch up on."

"It is a Duscur tradition," Dedue says, thinking back to his childhood when there were many people sitting in a circle and talking.

Dimitri nods. "That can be arranged. There is an extra bed in that room. I will ask the housekeeping to make it up for you."

"Thank you, Your Highness," Mihail's smile is more genuine this time. "I think I will leave you to do that."

"It is no issue," Dimitri says, holding out his hand. Mihail gets out of the bed and takes it. "Anything for an old friend."

"Yes," Mihail says, casting a cheeky grin at Dedue when Dimitri turns to face Cornelia. He even winks. "Anything for an old friend."

* * *

"Alright," Dedue says later that night, when the two are sequestered away in their room. "What did you want to say?"

Mihail smirks. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

" _Terram causa_ ," Dedue sighs, "you were twiddling your thumbs earlier." _(For Earth's sake,)_

"I still have that tell?"

"It's the strongest one you have."

"A shame." Mihail got up and made sure that the door was locked. "There aren't any secret passages in here, right?"

"Well-"

A loose stone in the floor shifts, and Sylvain's head pokes up out of the hole.

Dedue sighs. "There's that."

" _Est vis!" (This is violence!)_

* * *

Introducing Mihail and Sylvain is a mistake. It's a mistake that Dedue is, sadly, forced to make, but a mistake nonetheless.

"So, what were you two talking about?" Sylvain asks, taking his usual nightly seat on what was now Mihail's bed.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Mihail jokes, a twinkle forming in his eyes. "Why are you here?"

"The Gautier family is trying to gain more favor with the Crown," Sylvain explains. "All three of us are sharing a room and I don't feel like being asleep near Miklan right now."

Dedue coughs twice and gives Mihail a pointed look, their signal to drop the subject. "It does not matter. Whatever is said in this room, stays with us."

" _Dedue,"_ Mihail says, giving Dedue a pointed look back. " _Estne certus?" (Dedue, are you sure?)_

" _Sum certus. Confideme."_ The two Duscis looked at each other, a long silence entered the room. " _Confisus esne nos?"_ Mihail's hand flickers, and a light breeze fell in from the window. Dedue wonders what Mihail just cast. _(I am certain. Trust me. / Will you trust us?)_

Whatever it is, Mihail sighs and taps his elbow once, a signal of tentative trust in a plan. "Sure. But I get to choose what he hears."

"Wha-" Sylvain's outburst was quickly quieted by Mihail's stare. "Yeah, alright. Keep your secrets."

"I will," Mihail states, walking back to his bed. "But you have to lead me through the tunnels at least once to stay here."

Sylvain nods. "Deal. Later."

Mihail nods back. "So, Dedue, what did you want to ask me?"

Dedue looks up at the ceiling, forcefully putting his thoughts together until they were as even as a row of crops. "Why were you so 'busy'?"

"And that's something he can't hear," Mihail states, bringing his hands up and beginning to cast a spell, plucking a breeze out of the air and whispering into it. He lets go of the breeze and Dedue is prepared to hear his voice on the wind. " _Mutatus eram. Cupitavi non esse." (I was changed. I didn't want it.)_

" _Quid est?" (What did they do?)_

" _Dederunt mihi signum."_ Mihail quickly glances over at Sylvain, probably trying to gauge the redhead's reaction. " _Magnus Signum." (They gave me a signal/symbol. A grand one.)_

Dedue feels his eyebrows raise in curiosity. He thought back to all of the times that Mihail had tried to teach him how to whisper, all of the messages passed over long distances thanks to the wind. Then he gives up, quickly prays to Terra, and plucks a stone off of the ground, tossing it to Mihail with intent.

Mihail catches and reads it. "Yes, a Crest! I didn't know how to translate it."

"A Crest?" Sylvain asks, interested in the scrap Mihail accidentally gave him. "Why are you talking about Crests?"

The weight of Mihail's words hit Dedue right then. Crests are apparently power, gifted from the Goddess. A person must be born with a Crest. Crests are inherited through family lines. Mihail is not devoted to Fodlan's Goddess, was not born with a Crest, and the Vessyl were never involved with anyone outside of Duscur. So how did people give Mihail a Crest?

Mihail's face scrunches before he speaks. "You can't hear that." He grabs another breeze out of the air and whispers into it. As he lets it go, a flashing light sparks, and a shining shape briefly glows behind him.

"You have a Crest?!" Sylvain's voice was loud, and the noble was on his feet and staring at Mihail. "What Crest is it? Try to manifest it again."

"No," Mihail says, but he does it anyway, holding the image above his palm.

Sylvain frowns. "I've never seen that Crest before. What is it? Is it after some Duscur person?"

"Duscis," The two Duscis correct him immediately. Dedue clears his throat. "The word for people from Duscur is Duscis. But no, there is no Crest named after a Duscis."

"I think it's named the Crest of Macil?" Mihail looks like he was in deep thought. "Macool? Macuil?"

"Like Saint Macuil?" Sylvain took a closer look at the Crest. "I can do a bit more research on it if you want me to."

Dedue coughed twice. "That would be helpful. Thank you, Sylvain."

Mihail drops the Crest, allowing it to fade. "You tell no one about this, alright?" He stares the noble down. "Act surprised if it ever comes up." Sylvain nods.

Two loud knocks cut through the small silence. "Dedue? Mihail?" Dimitri's voice comes in through the wood. "Have you seen Sylvain?"

"Who?" Mihail asks, guiding Sylvain over towards the hole in the floor. He calmly glances at Dedue and rubs his chin twice.

Dedue rolls his eyes, facing the door. "Excuse him, Your Highness, I do not think that Mihail and Sylvain have met. Although," he adds in a thoughtful tone he does not mean, "I haven't seen Sylvain all night."

An older, gruffled voice speaks, and the man does not sound pleased. "I know that's a dastardly lie, Your Highness! Check this room, I want to see that my brother isn't here." Dedue's eyes widen at the realization of who is with Dimitri.

A glance at Mihail shows that Sylvain is just ducking into the hole. Mihail quickly beckons Dedue to help him cover it up. Moving across the small room quietly is easy enough, and soon, the stone is back in the ground, hiding Sylvain from sight. Dedue makes a quick judgement call and taps Mihail's shoulder.

"Tell Sylvain not to panic if the rock doesn't move," he whispers, and Mihail nods, quickly relaying the message through cracks in the mortar before Dedue places a hand on the stone and shapes it, forcing it to become solid and connected to the rest of the floor.

The two stand up and face the door just as it opens and Miklan Gautier storms in, brandishing his spear. "Where is he?"

Dimitri stumbles in after him, face flushed and expression horrified. "Gautier! They are guests-"

"Your dastards of guests stole my little brother out from under my family's nose." Miklan interjects, his eyes dancing back and forth between Dedue and Mihail. Dedue calmly steps in front of his friend, closer to the man and his weapon.

"I don't see Sylvain at all unless it's during a meeting or with His Higness," he lies, a strong shell built through the years covering it up. He's met with the tip of the lance snapping to his face.

"I'll be the judge of that," Miklan snarls. He glances around and gestures to the wall. "Get over there. Greenie, too."

Dedue coughs twice and makes his way to the wall, taking Mihail with him. The two watch as Miklan stormed around the room, forcefully shoving things aside in a hunt for his brother.

After a few tense moments, Dimitri grabs his wrist and holds the older man in place, the Blaiddyd Crest glowing bright blue behind him. "Miklan. You have gone too far. Go to bed. I promise that if Sylvain does not turn up in the morning, we will continue the search."

Miklan stares at the Prince for a few seconds. Dedue's heart skips when he realizes that the man is standing right on top of the stone hiding Sylvain. The butt of the lance stamps down onto the stone, and Dedue fights not to react as his magic holds up against it. "Fine," Miklan spits out, glaring at the two of them. "But if I hear that he's been here…"

The words linger in the air as he stomps out. Dimitri gives them both an apologetic glance as he follows the man. A few seconds pass, and the two Duscis look at each other. Mihail quickly walks over to the door and peeks into the hallway. "He's gone."

"Close the door," Dedue instructs as he moves to the stone, channeling the earth's drone as he dislodges it from the ground.

Sylvain scrambles out of the hole, taking deep breaths to calm himself. Dedue kneels down to talk to him. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Sylvain says, his breathing starting to even out. "Just reminded me of the well."

"The well?" Mihail asks, and Dedue coughs twice again, this time with an even stronger glare. "Nevermind, I don't want to know. Is this gonna happen again?"

Sylvain shrugged. "Maybe? Miklan was acting up tonight and I just wanted some space. Thanks, by the way, for helping me."

"No problem." Mihail flicks his hand again, and the strong breeze seems to travel around the room and into the hole. A few seconds pass as his green eye lights up before he blinks and it's gone. "There's no one at the end of the tunnel, if you want to slip out now."

"Thanks. I'll leave in a minute. He didn't hurt you guys, right?" Sylvain asks awkwardly. "He's been acting out a lot more now that I'm 18 and-"

Dedue shakes his head. "We're fine. See you tomorrow."

Sylvain salutes as he drops into the hole. Dedue moves the stone back into place and looks up at Mihail. "Be prepared to heal him tomorrow."

Mihail looks confused. "What?"

He sighs. "Welcome to Faerghus."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Meeting the Blue Lions! Now I get to tag Ashe, Annette, and Mercedes.
> 
> Honestly, Ashe is the one person who consistently puts visible thought and effort into respecting Dedue and making sure he feels safe. Short king vibes.
> 
> Annette and Mercedes are also very sweet, and it's very fun to write them as close friends.
> 
> The childhood four are still themselves. No one has grown into anything new, they're just kind of at the worst of what the are.
> 
> Mihail. He's here. And with it, the canon divergence. And a lot of Duscis. And a lot of Dedue being happy and having a true friend, confidant brother, etc.
> 
> Cornelia sucks (part 342.) feat. Mihail and raised ambassadorship.
> 
> Dedue can see the warning signs in having two people who are very good at faking things be friends. Dedue can also see the warning signs in having two people who are smart enough to see those warning signs be friends. Mihail and Sylvain fall into both of those categories.
> 
> Dedue and his childhood friends absolutely have subtle signs for telling each other what to do in public and I refuse to drop this headcanon.
> 
> I wonder who gave Mihail the Crest. 
> 
> I've silently hinted at it, but Duscis magic is more utilitarian than combat. It's based on what Duscis deity you pray to, and usually a family prays to the same one. Dedue and the Molinaros pray to Terra/Tellus, the earth, Mihail and the Vessyls pray to Ventus, the wind, etc.
> 
> Also, again silent hint, but Mihail knows "white magic", although that isn't the term used in Duscur.


	5. Arguere

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> arguo, arguere, argui, argutum - to argue, fight with words, openly disagree

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey y'all. i hope you're staying safe with quarantine. when i post the next chapter (next week) i will be done with my freshman year of college!
> 
> anyway, have fun, and please comment if you want to talk about something because I have all the time in the world now.

Dedue wakes up to hear Mihail praying. The words are inaudible, but if he remembers correctly, his family prayed to Ventus. It feels amazing to hear his voice again, to actually be able to hear it instead of having to have his mind try to remember it in a clarity it could never fully achieve.

Dedue sits up in bed when Mihail stops praying, and the two smile and nod at each other as they get ready for the day. A giddy part of Dedue's brain reminds him of the many times this happened when they were younger, not so close to being adults themselves. The thought of time passing forces Dedue to think about how close it is to his 17th birthday. And if it's close to his 17th birthday…

"Mihail," he starts tentatively, "how old are you now?"

"I'm-" Mihail starts, stopping to really think about it. "What day is it?"

"The 21st Verdant. I'm still 16."

"Then I'm 15. Always a year behind you, remember?"

"You're so young," Dedue chuckles, pulling on his shoes. "You're still the ba-"

"Please don't," Mihail groans, standing by the door.

Dedue stands up, raising an eyebrow. " _Infans." (Baby.)_

Mihail swung open the door, his own eyes narrowing sharply. " _Odi te." (I hate you.)_

* * *

The two split off during the day, but they're still able to contact each other. Dedue's first stop is to go to the greenhouse and pick up a pocketful of stones. He tests his first message quickly, dropping it into the freshly tilled earth as he mutters a quick prayer.

As he makes his way through the hallways of Castle Fhirdiad, he notices the candles flicker, and he isn't surprised when a bit of wind parks next to his ear and hisses, " _Nole nominare me infante, infans." (Stop calling me a baby, you baby.)_

It takes all of Dedue's skill to not laugh as he heads off towards Dimitri's room, although he's sure a gleeful expression is very visible on his face.

* * *

Throughout the day, Dedue runs into Ingrid, and the glare on her face is almost enough to make his smile completely disappear off of his face. "What are you so happy about?"

Dedue notes that her hair seems messier today. "It is nothing," he says, starting to walk past her. "I just met an old friend."

"Don't step past me!" Ingrid forcefully gets in his way. "Just because His Highness doesn't see an issue with having two of you doesn't mean that I'm blind-"

"Hey, Ingrid. Dedue." Sylvain pops up, dragging a scowling Felix behind him. "What's going on?"

Ingrid scoffs. "Dedoo is accosting me."

Sylvain nods. "Uh huh. Which is why you were biting his head off when I showed up."

Felix scoffs. "Jeez, Ingrid. Didn't you learn that knights don't lie? Or did those lessons disappear over the years?"

The harshness takes Dedue back, and he can see that the other two are also disarmed by his words. The silence grows to be awkward, and Dedue takes the moment to slip away and leave them.

* * *

Before the next nobility meeting, Dedue watches as Dimitri paces back and forth. "What are you so nervous about?"

"I am thinking about making a proposal about the Blue Lions House," Dimitri says. "I think it would be best if Mihail came with us."

Dedue has to stop his eyebrow from rising. "What gave you this idea?"

Dimitri looks down at the ground, bashful. "Is it a bad idea? You just seem to be in a better mood since he's been around."

"It is not a bad idea," Dedue says. "I appreciate it."

"I'm glad to hear that." Dimitri smiles, and the thought of Mihail coming along with them is a great feeling to have.

* * *

"The last item on the docket is from His Highness."

Dimitri nods, standing up. "Thank you, Baron Dominic. Before I give my proposal, I would like to announce that the son of the Duscur Ambassadors has been found, and as he had information about his own return, I have already moved the reward of a bullion to the necessary accounts."

All of the nobles nod, but Dedue notices Kleiman's lip curl as he did so. The noble did take it upon himself to take Duscis land. Maybe that can be fixed later.

"Now that the announcement is done," Dimitri continues, "I would like to propose a new student to join the Blue Lion House."

"Is the student already in the castle?" Fraldarius asks, Felix sitting beside him.

Dimitri nods. "He is."

"Well," Gautier grumbles, "May we see him?"

"You may. He's actually right outside the room. Can someone go let him in?"

A few moments pass before the door opened again, and Dedue spots Mihail walking in and taking a seat next to Dimitri. "Greetings, everyone. _Salve, Dedue."_

Kleiman clears his throat. "Your Highness, is this absolutely necessary?"

"I believe that we need to work on our relations with Duscur," Dimitri states. "If we can help foster a positive working relationship between our two nations, then we can go back to our neutral standing."

"And you think that this could be done by wasting the national budget on a brat from Duscur?"

Mihail clears his throat. "Your Highness, may I be allowed to speak?" Dimitri nods, and Mihail stands up. "Gentlemen, ladies, I simply ask that you allow me to at least have a chance at rebuilding our nations."

"I wouldn't allow you a chance to clean my stables," Kleiman spits, staring Mihail down. "Much less with the national funds."

"Oh, but does it have to be with your money?" Mihail asks. "The last item I heard before this one said that I have a bullion in my name. Your Highness, how much is a bullion worth?"

"A thousand gold."

"Thank you. And how much does the tuition cost for the Officers Academy?"

"About 500 gold."

"Ah," Galatea interjects, both father and daughter crossing their arms. "The uniform costs. The cost of books. Travel. That cost 800 gold for His Highness and his vassal, and that is outside of your meager budget."

There was a long silence as the noble sat back, obviously satisfied with his defense. Felix was looking at the man as if he was stupid, Sylvain and his brother were among the few trying not to laugh, Annette looked confused as she sat by Dominic, and Ingrid looked downright mortified.

"My dear friend," Rowe spoke up, a gentle tone lacing his words. "That means that there is only a cost of 400 gold for each of them."

"And I believe that comfortably falls into Mihail's budget," Dimitri says, regaining control of the conversation. "For what it matters, as the House Leader, I am perfectly fine with Mihail joining us."

"I do not feel comfortable with this idea, _Your Highness,_ " Ingrid states, giving Dimitri a look that Dedue can't decipher.

Dedue takes that quick moment to scan the other students in the Blue Lions house. Felix looks uninterested, Annette looks very interested, and Sylvain catches his eye and winks.

"Well," Dimitri starts, "neither Mercedes or Ashe are here, but why don't we ask the other students going to Garreg Mach?"

"As long as your vassal doesn't get any sway in this, Your Highness," Kleiman states, "You can't trust them to not stick up for each other in most cases."

Dedue can't help but think that that's the first correct thing he's said about Duscur in the years that he's known the man.

Dimitri lets out a deep sigh, ready to admonish the man when Felix speaks up. "I don't care who joins us. As long as I can spar, it's fine."

"That sounds like a negative vote." Ingrid says, a smile on her face.

Felix scowls. "It's a non-vote, Galatea. I don't care, so why should I vote?"

"Sylvain?" Dimitri interjects, before the two can really get into an argument. "What do you think?"

Sylvain rubs his chin, looking like he's deep in thought. "I'm fine with it," he says, and Dedue is suddenly reminded about the instructions he gave Mihail last night. Did Sylvain need that healing? "After all, Dedue is going, so I don't see a problem with his friend."

All eyes turn to Annette, and she slightly leans back in her chair. "I would like to talk to him, hang out and stuff," she says, her voice slightly shaky. "At least learn his name. He seems to be nice, so I'm fine with him going."

"So," Dimitri says, "that's 3 for, 1 against, and 4 non-votes. Seeing that we have the issue of budget out of the way, I do believe that we can allow Mihail to join us at Garreg Mach next year."

Mihail nods towards Dimitri. "Thank you, Your Highness. I hope to make this the beginning of good relations between Faerghus and Duscur." The room is silent after Mihail speaks, and Dedue can clearly see the vein nearly popping in frustration on Kleiman's forehead.

"I hope to do the same," Dimitri says. "If no one has any other things to add to the docket?" Another silence passed. "Then we are dismissed. I will see everybody in another moon's time."

Dedue manages to catch up with Mihail as the nobles pour out of the room. "That was a journey."

Mihail winks at him. "I have a strong feeling that there will be some other journeys to come. That was just a taste."

"It was a very strong taste," Dedue notes, glancing up to see where Dimitri was. "Will you be alright if I leave you?"

"I'll be fine, Dedue," Mihail says, giving him a light push. "Go and suck up to Dimitri so we can do more for Duscur."

Dedue rolls his eyes and leaves. The position of _Legatus Duscis_ was going to be alright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mihail praying in the morning - Duscis religion is a big part of Duscis culture, although it's not mandatory. The more religious aspects like prayer and such, are usually personal or with close family who also are religious, but the ceremonies and festivals are a blend of religion, culture, and the social needs of people.
> 
> Ages!! Mihail is born on the 21st day of the Red Wolf Moon, 1162, making him 1 year and 3 months younger than Dedue. He is the baby of the childhood friend group they had in Duscur. He did not like that.
> 
> Ingrid v. Dedue turning into Ingrid v. Sylvain and Felix? This is a strange interaction that has definitely happened before where Ingrid will get on someone's case and then someone will get on her case for getting on the first person's case. Dedue leaves just before the cycle gets too deep and all three of the Faerghus kids started yelling at each other.
> 
> Dimitri has one idea, not because he's not smart, but because he's not confident in his abilities as a prince. You get told that you should start practicing to run the kingdom and suddenly everyone around you is switching up, that's gonna breed some nasty shit. For Dimitri, a little lack of self-confidence is in the ingredients list.
> 
> I really just wanted someway to clown on Galatea Sr. In my firm, unhumble opinion he can choke because he's honestly one of the worst background characters in the game and it just slides because Faerghus feeds into that shit. Also, Kleiman sucks and he's stealing land from people who he's already harmed for financial gain. The fact that Mihail and Dimitri want to work together is directly against his interests and he's going to try everything he can to stop that.
> 
> I have recently come across some Sylvain brainworms and he gets a lot of character progression in this series. A lot of it just boils down to teaching him out of the shit that Faerghus teaches.
> 
> Mihail telling Dedue to "suck up to Dimitri" is a half-joke. On the one hand, making sure that you're on at least neutral terms of those in authority is a good way to get change on your side (see: lobbying). However, both of them know that Dimitri and Dedue's relationship is kind of awkward, as Dimitri did save his life, but is also still somewhat perpetuating the problems that nearly got him killed in the first place.
> 
> Dimiti is a mess and there's an arc about this later, but I'm too lazy to write this essay in the notes. Goodnight.


	6. Parare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> paro, parare, paravi, parvatum - to prepare, get ready for, plan.

Getting ready for the Officers Academy makes time pass even quicker than what Dedue's brain will comfortably register. It seems to jump forward in clicks and random moments.

His own birthday starts with Mihail waking him up. "Get up!" Mihail shouts. "Dimitri gave you the day off!"

Unfortunately, Dedue is not ready for the day. Nor is he ready for Mihail to jump into the bed and onto him.

"I'm up, I'm up!"

* * *

"So," Mihail asks later, sitting in his bed as Dedue finishes getting ready. "What do you want to do today?"

"I-" Dedue starts, truly thinking about the question. He frowns. "Honestly, I have no idea what I want to do."

Mihail looks at him. "Well, how did your last birthday go?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

* * *

After breakfast, the two spend time in the greenhouse. Dedue takes a few seeds and begins to plant them in the soil while Mihail watches, humming. It's after he finishes planting a line of Morfis seeds does Dedue realize what the younger Duscis is humming. " _Silva?" (The Forest?)_

" _Est ioca,"_ Mihail says, controlling a gust of air between his hands. He smirks before he actually starts singing. " _Transeo silvam. Numquam, numquam." (It's fun. / I go through the forest. Sometimes, sometimes.)_

Dedue rolls his eyes. " _Transeo silvam. Numquam, numquam."_

Mihail's smile grows wider. " _Transeo silvam-"_

Dedue starts singing a different part, mixing their voices. " _Transeo silvam-"_

" _Numquam-"_

" _Olim, olim, olim." (One day, one day, one day.)_

The two Duscis continue to sing, the greenhouse lightly echoing their voices as they continue the song. Their feet move in time with the rhythm: strong, weak, weak, strong, weak, weak, strong, weak, weak, strong-

A knock on the door stops them, and on instinct Dedue tenses up as he glances at the door. Mercedes and Annette stand there, bashful smiles on their faces. "Excuse me," Mercedes says apologetically, "but you both have lovely voices."

Dedue relaxes, calmly nodding his head. "Thank you."

Annette waves at the two before pulling the older woman's sleeve. "Oh, Mercie! This is the new Blue Lions member I was telling you about!"

Mihail waves, quickly brushing dirt off of his pants. "Hello, it's nice to meet you. I'm Mihail."

"I'm Mercedes. Do you mind if we stay here?" She holds up a basket. "We just finished baking!"

* * *

"This is the best cooking I've had in Faerghus."

"Oh, stop. It's only a simple family recipe."

* * *

After Annette and Mercedes leave, Sylvain walks in, carrying a small bag. "Hey. Happy birthday."

"Thank you," Dedue says, putting his gardening tools to the side. "Is everything alright?"

"I'm fine! I just wanted to give you your present." Sylvain takes a smaller sack out of his bag and lobs it to Dedue.

The sound it makes as it hits the floor piques Dedue's interest. "Is that gold?"

"You were supposed to catch it!" Sylvain whines.

Dedue rolls his eyes. "I'm not a dog to play fetch with. Where did you even get this from?"

"I was saving it up as a thank you present for everything. Especially for that one night." Sylvain says in a small voice, rubbing the back of his neck. "Besides, it's nice to have a bit of extra cash to spend."

At this point, Mihail has already opened the bag, excitedly looking in it. "This is a lot of gold. Probably 2 Virgils." There was a glint in his eyes that Dedue knew meant that he had an idea.

Hopefully this one was more well thought out then the festivalevent. Dedue is still prone to shuddering slightly whenever he glances at a horse.

* * *

Dedue knows that all he has to do is wait until Mihail actually tells him the plan. But he also notices all the messages that Mihail sends out when the younger boy doesn't think that he's looking. The lack of a voice in his own ear just has him wondering who is receiving those messages.

He does notice that Mihail stops sending any more messages as soon as they walk into the mess hall for dinner, both of them moving to stand closer to the walls and be mostly out of the sight of the knights and nobles. They join the line for food, pointedly ignoring the glare of a knight.

It doesn't take long for them to actually get food, and it's as bland and lifeless as Dedue remembers. Mihail sighs as he picks the tray up, and the snap of everyone's head towards him sends up several flags of warning to Dedue.

Dedue leaves the line, placing a hand on Mihail's back and guiding the slightly shorter teen through the hall. He leans down and whispers, " _Vide,"_ in Mihail's ear. _(Be watchful.)_

The two find a table at the edge of the room, and Mihail places the tray down. As they sit, Dedue notices that Mihail chose some seats that were facing inwards, keeping the walls of the castle at their backs and leaving very little blind spots for someone to sneak up on them.

"This is very tiring," Mihail whispers. "I'm sorry for-"

"It's not your fault," Dedue says, keeping a careful watch on every person in the room. "Just be careful, alright? We still have to worry about some harsher people."

Mihail is right. This is very tiring.

* * *

"The Gautier's aren't at the castle, right?" Mihail asks when they get to their room later that night.

Dedue nods. "They left after Sylvain gave me my birthday present, remember?"

"Good." Mihail gets up and locks the door. "Do you mind locking the stone?"

Dedue gets up and places a hand on the stone covering the secret passage, closing it. He looks up at Mihail, raising an eyebrow. "Do I finally get to know what you've been thinking about all day?"

"Maybe." Mihail takes a seat on his bed, looking up at the ceiling. "How do you feel about Dimitri?"

"He's-" Dedue pauses for a few moments, struggling to come up with a word to describe the prince and his situation. "He's an interesting person."

Mihail's eyebrow raises. "Good interesting or bad interesting?"

"Both."

"Alright. We can work with this." A smirk forms on Mihail's face, and Dedue knows that that specific smirk only comes out when the idea he has is a big one. "How would you feel about bringing some more Duscis to Garreg Mach?"

Dedue blinks. " _Quid." (What.)_

And that's when Mihail tells him about Abyss. And this information is quite possibly the best birthday present that Dedue has received today.

* * *

It's many moons later, after Mihail's 16th birthday, when a rock spits out from the wall as Dedue pokes his head into the greenhouse. He's both curious and concerned that one of the plants was hit as he moves over to the bed and picks up the stone. The grooves in the stone catch his attention and he takes a closer look at the stone, reading it.

_We're in Abyss. Let Mihail know. - Adrista_

Dedue's heart skips as he remembers Adrista running during the Murder. For a few seconds, he allows himself to revel in the glee that she was still alive. After that, he quickly taps the wall, causing a smooth stone to fall into his hand. He focuses for a few seconds before dropping it onto the floor. It doesn't make a sound as it sinks into the floor on its way to Mihail.

It takes a short while for Mihail to respond, but Dedue is ready for the gust of wind that shoots towards him and whispers, "Now, we wait."

* * *

One day, they have to be measured and pick their patterns for the uniforms. It takes Dimitri a few hours because the tailors don't want to make a mistake. It takes some time for the Duscis because Mihail has to hunt down Dimitri so he could scold the tailors for trying to avoid working with them.

In the end, Dedue just picks out a couple sets of simple shirts, jackets, and pants.

* * *

Travelling to Garreg Mach is truly the most pressing thing on his nerves. It's a special kind of torture to be placed in a carriage for a good portion of the day with the Faerghus four.

Ingrid and Felix are pointedly refusing to talk right now, both of them looking out of the carriage windows to stare at the scenery. Sylvain is constantly trying to break the silence, with very little success. Dimitri is seemingly dozing off every once in a while, sometimes answering Sylvain's increasingly more desperate questions. Dedue just sits there and watches everything.

Mihail's voice enters his ear. "Hey, how is it like over there?"

Dedue pokes his head out of the carriage, looking at the second carriage trailing them. Mihail and Ashe wave at him. He smiles as he quickly goes back to his bag and pulls out a stone.

"What are you doing?" Sylvain asks. Dedue internally sighs as all of the occupants in the carriage look at him: The four friends, Fraldarius, and Galatea.

"I'm replying to the carriage behind us."

Galatea's eyes narrow. "Why are you replying? They haven't whistled to us."

"It's a Duscis tradition," Dedue says as he drops the rock out the window, a message already shaped on it. "If you want, I'm pretty sure we can teach you."

"Why would we want to learn that-"

"Hold on, Count Galatea," Fraldarius interrupts, "It's harmless, let them have their fun. And if it isn't harmless, we are more than prepared to deal with it."

Dedue notices the breeze that blows into the carriage and nearly laughs when the nobles' eyes widen. "I see that Mihail has been practicing."

Ingrid and Felix quickly throw their heads out of the carriage, and Mihail's laughter is audible to everyone, even those inside of the carriage. A few seconds later, a second gust of wind blows in and Dedue hears Annette's voice: "Hey, Dedue! Can you let me know if this works?"

Dedue smiles and drops another stone out of the window. Annette's cheers are even louder than he thought they would have been.

* * *

The first thing that happens when they arrive at Garreg Mach Monastery is the introduction of the staff. A large number of cooks, priests, monks, and others greet them at the reception hall. Dedue and Mihail find themselves in front of a stern looking man with dark green hair.

"Greetings," the man says, giving the two a quick bow. "I am Seteth, an advisor to the archbishop. You two are…"

"Dedue Molinaro."

"Mihail Vessyl."

"Ah." Seteth nods. "Well, if you have any questions, I am usually on the monastery grounds."

"We'll remember that," Mihail says. Seteth makes a hum of acknowledgement before he walks off, something in the distance calling his attention. Mihail chuckles. "He seems interesting."

Dedue nods, looking around at all the other staff members. "This is the Officers Academy, right?"

"Yeah. It's part of the monastery."

"Then where are the teachers?"

* * *

His question doesn't get answered until they finish unpacking, have dinner, and head to the training arena. The other houses seem to already be there, and Dedue spots the red and yellow capes that match Dimitri's blue on their leaders. The girl with the red cape is constantly shadowed by a taller man who looks intentionally malicious. The boy with the yellow cape looks like he's constantly being hounded by a girl with pink hair and a boy with purple hair.

Dimitri walks up to Dedue. "Dedue, do you mind talking to the other house leaders right now? I hear that they're the heirs to the Empire and the Alliance."

That piques his attention. The Kingdom is the closest Fodlan nation to Duscur, but before the Murder, there was open communication with the other two. It wouldn't hurt to see if what Dimitri heard is true. He shakes his head. "After you, Dimitri."

They both start walking. Dedue chooses to ignore Ingrid hissing, "It's Your Highness" as they leave.

The girl with white hair and red cape spots them first, turning to face them. She waves as the man currently playing as her shadow stands behind her. "Hello."

"Hello," Dimitri says, holding out his hand. "I'm Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd, crown prince of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus."

"Edelgard von Hresvelg," Edelgard replies, shaking Dimitri's hand. "Princess and heir to the Adrestian Empire. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Dimitri smiles. "I'm glad to say the same." The two leaders start to engage in polite small talk, something to both pass the time and test each other's mettle and grace.

Dedue makes eye contact with the shadow of a man and nods. The shadow speaks for the first time. "Who are you?"

"Dedue Molinaro. I'm His Highness' vassal."

"Hubert von Vestra. Lady Edelgard's retainer."

The two nod at each other before they turn their attention back to their respective leaders. A few more moments pass before the tan boy with the yellow cape steps into the conversation, a sly smile on his face. "Call me Claude. Claude von Riegan. The heir to the Duke of the Leicester Alliance."

The girl with pink hair waved excitedly. "I'm Hilda Goneril! Claude's best friend."

The boy with purple hair sighed. "I'm Lorenz Hellman Gloucester. I'm Claude's unofficial retainer, due to Hilda's laziness."

Everyone in the conversation introduces themselves again, and Hilda looks disappointed at how quick the house leaders get back to their conversation. "I was expecting a bit more pizzazz."

"Excuse her," Lorenz says, "Hilda seems to think that everyone besides her can do work."

Hilda pouts. "That's not true! It's just that everyone's introductions were kind of boring."

"Well, their demeanor is slightly better," Lorenz says. "Molinaro seems to be more civilized than Vestra seems to be creepy."

Dedue makes eye contact with Hubert and reciprocates the nod. Claude's house has not gotten off to a good start.

The house leaders' conversation is cut short by the entrance of three of the teachers, and Dedue pays them a decent amount of attention as they let everyone know about the seminars happening over the week while the house leaders went on a reconnaissance mission together.

* * *

That night, there's a knock on his door, and when he opens it, Mihail is standing there. "Ready to go?"

"Tonight?" Dedue asks. "Didn't we just get here?"

"It's the best time. No one else knows where the monastery entrance to Abyss is, so we don't have to worry about getting caught."

Dedue thinks over the words before he pokes his head into the hallway. Seeing no one, he closes the door behind him as he leaves his room, heart pounding. "Is your door closed?"

"And locked," Mihail boasts, smiling. "Let's go say hello to everyone."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter and the next one are the last two "pre-game" chapters, so i may actually slow down the posting rate soon since I'm still in White Clouds atm.
> 
> Anyway, chapter notes:
> 
> Dedue's birthday! Again. But this one is better because people he enjoys and tolerates are there.
> 
> Silvam (A forest) is based off of a part in The Forest, a song from Dave Malloy's Octet, translated into Latin.
> 
> The dog comment is necessary. Fuck the Felix C support.
> 
> Faerghus vibes are draining. Also, I really think that being Duscis in Faerghus follows the same thread as being Black in a lot of the world. Like, Faerghus just sees these people as monsters, so they're always stuck with the "crime" of being Duscis, and it's draining to live like that.
> 
> (Don't ya know? Talking about a revolution-)
> 
> Some more Faerghus racism, both with the tailor and on the journey. Annette's cheerfulness and love of magic is very cool to write though, I love that girl.
> 
> Seteth is just like, an awkward vice prinicpal. Especially considering the whole (Cichol is looking at a person with Macuil's Crest)
> 
> Meeting House Leaders and Their Seconds is a Wild Time.
> 
> We start to sneak into Abyss. This will be inch resting.


	7. Venire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> venio, venire, veni, ventum - to come, arrive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so... this is the last pregame chapter! White Clouds after this.
> 
> With that being said, the White Clouds chapters are taking longer than I thought they would, so I'll post them every two weeks to make sure that they're fine. They're plenty long enough to do that.

Mihail is quick to open and close the entrance to Abyss, and the two Duscis hold hands as he leads the way, muttering directions to himself. Dedue reaches out into the earth to help when Mihail lets him know that there aren't any active winds for him to use.

It doesn't take long until they reach Abyss proper, and Dedue is amazed that it exists. There are lanterns everywhere that light the area, and the amount of people walking around and living here is impressive. He's looking at some sort of altar when he hears Bryn's voice. " _Mihail! Dedue!"_

Dedue turned to see the older one running down one of the halls, a smile on their face. Behind them, he spots Adrista arguing with a purple-haired man who looks younger than her, and Cibor and Rius following Bryn. His eyes water at the sight of his childhood friends, and he manages to open his arms in time for Bryn to barrel into him, swinging them into a long lasting hug.

As he puts Bryn back down on the ground, he notices that Cibor is hugging Mihail. Adrista and Rius finally catch up to the group, and soon everyone is just hugging each other, and Dedue can't believe how much they all have changed.

Bryn's dark hair is cut to their shoulder, puffy and dark red. Their red tunic and trousers are similar to the ones that their parents wore when they worked in the forges, and their _gemma_ is still on a necklace like it was the last time Dedue saw them, copper like their _prosthesium_.

Cibor simple shirt and shorts shows that he's actually gained muscle, which Dedue knows he's happy about. His icy-blond hair is streaked with dust and cut short, a trim that he wore when they were kids. His own bronze _gemma_ is tied on an anklet.

Adrista somehow still looks radiant even underground, her dress off-white and free from dirt. Her hair style has changed from the intricate braids and patterns she had had it in, now in two simple black twists across her head, although she still has her golden _gemma_ as an earring.

And Rius is still pretty close to Dedue's height, but his eyes have warmed up, and his resting face is more friendly now. There's small specks of dirt on his simple robes, but his _gemma_ still reflects the torchlight well, the silver medallion attached to a cord tied around his waist. His hair is still very straight, left down and immaculately trimmed, although somewhat messed up by the recent reunion.

There's a long silence as everyone sizes each other up, years of experiences for them to catch up on. Dedue clears his throat. " _Salvete." (Hey y'all.)_

Bryn looks like they've been slapped. " _Salve- Tace, Dedue." (Hey- Dedue, shut up.)_ They hug Dedue again.

Adrista smiles. "How are you two? Is everything alright?"

"We're alright," Mihail says. "How is everyone he-"

"Mihail," Cibor interjects, bouncing from one foot to the other. "What happened to your hair?"

"I think," Rius says, cutting through the cross talk, "that we should probably take this to the others."

* * *

"Baila!" Cibor yells as he opens the door, "We have some friends to meet!"

Someone yawns. "Baila fell asleep," a voice says, somewhat drowsily. "And you woke me up again."

"Sorry about that, Towen," Cibor whispers. "Forgot you're a light sleeper."

Bryn taps his shoulder. "Cibor, can you please move out of the way? The rest of us are still out here."

"Oh, right." Cibor moves, and as everyone enters the room, Dedue notices two Duscis he doesn't know. The one that's awake, Towen, simply sits in a bed near the door. There is an iron _gemma_ on their wrist that glinted in the dim candlelight as they lean forward, grey locs covering one side of their face. Their eyes take stock of the room, land on him and Mihail, and narrow.

 _"Extranei,"_ they state, calmly pulling out a rapier from beside the bed, _"nominame se." (Strangers, name yourselves.)_

" _Sum Dedue Molinaro Terrae,"_ Dedue smiles as he says his Duscis introduction, finally being able to practice the smallest bit of his culture without trying to hide it. _(I'm Dedue Molinaro of the earth.)_

Mihail waves. " _Sum Mihail Vessyl Venti. Quod esne te?" (I'm Mihail Vessyl of the wind. Who are you?)_

" _Sum Towen Resiti, Dominum Gentis Resitis, Belli,"_ Towen says, relaxing as their eyes glance over the _gemmae_ that the two of them wore. "Are you two the people who Adrista said would be here soon?" _(I'm Towen Resiti, Head of the Resitis family, of war.)_

"Yes, they are," Adrista says, sitting down on another bed. "Can someone wake Baila up? She needs to be a part of this."

Rius nods, walking over to the occupied bed and gently shaking Baila awake. Bryn falls face-forward onto their own bed, holding a hand out and lighting more candles in the room. "What do we have to talk about?" Towen asks. "I don't think that these two have that much time down here."

"We don't," Dedue admits. "We just wanted to make sure that everyone is here and safe."

Cibor snorts. "We could say the same about you. How is it in Faerghus?"

"It's interesting," Dedue and Mihail say at the same time, and the room chuckles.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up," Mihail mutters. Dedue tries to keep a straight face, but he can't, and he also ends up chuckling along with the room. "We may be able to see you all more this week than after it, we were just told that we have seminars that we could choose to go to."

"Only show up at night," Rius warns, crossing his arms. "It's probably easier for you two to sneak down here when everyone else is asleep."

"Besides," the girl on the bed, Baila, cuts in, iron _gemma_ in her hair, "Yuri would throw a fit if you both came in while it was day outside."

"So would Constance," Mihail says, holding out his hand. "But you are?"

She shakes it. " _Sum Baila Resiti Belli." (I am Baila Resiti, of war.)_

"Okay-" Adrista claps her hands together. "Everyone's awake. What do we do now?"

"What have you been doing so far?" Dedue asks.

"We've been trying to learn how to fight better," Cibor said, tossing a dagger in the air. "Towen and Baila are scarily good teachers."

"Of course we are," the siblings say at the same time.

"Adrista, Rius, and I are also trying to learn magic, but there aren't that many books down here," Bryn admits. "We've done well enough with what we can already do, but-"

"We can probably sneak things down here," Mihail reasons. "Books and training weapons at least."

"At the most," Rius instructs, giving both of them a pointed glare. "You're under an official house, so you have to be more careful. We can make do with books and training weapons."

"Besides," Baila says, "it would probably be best to not introduce you all to anything with a blade right now. Cibor still-"

"Anyway, Mihail," the man in question interrupts, an errant spark of lightning travelling down the length of his arm. "You never answered my question. What happened to your hair?"

"Oh." Mihail visibly deflates, and the energy in the room changes. Dedue notices Rius and Adrista narrow their eyes, Cibor and Towen lean forward, and Bryn's eyes seem to glow slightly brighter. "It's nothing."

"It doesn't sound like nothing," Bryn says, their voice low and dangerous like a roaring fire. "What happened?"

Mihail displays his Crest, and it floats in the air above his palm. The light bounces off of his face, highlighting his nervousness. "I was given a Crest," he explains, and Dedue realizes that Sylvain's outburst that one night stopped him from hearing more about what happened to the younger Duscis. "Forcibly."

Adrista places a hand on Mihail's back. "What do you mean by 'forcibly'?" She asks, her voice soft and comforting.

"There's a group of people," Mihail says. "They hide. I didn't know where I was after the carriage was attacked and I ran. It was an experiment."

"Like Hapi?" Cibor asks.

Dedue looks around in the room in surprise. "Hapi?"

" _Astra,"_ Rius mutters, "Don't know how she knows what she knows, and it-" Bryn calmly sits the scholar down, quieting his rant before it could get started. _(Person of stars.)_

Dedue's eyebrow raised. "There's an _Astrum_ here? How?"

"We don't know," Baila says with a shrug, "but she said that she was also experimented on. She came down here afterwards."

"Yeah," Mihail verifies, nodding. "Like her. We actually met down here after I showed up."

"Oh, that reminds me." Adrista looks over at Mihail in the same way their parents would with official business when they were kids. "Yuri wants to talk to you, Vessi."

"I'll stop by on the way out, thanks 'rista," Mihail says. "But, uh, I now have the first ever Major Crest of Macuil."

Towen catches the dagger before Cibor can catch it again, handing him a small wooden ball instead. "Who else knows?"

"Gautier and the Academy," Mihail answers. "There's a place on the application where you put down if you have a Crest or not and I think it would be worse to lie and try to hide it. Everyone else should know soon though, it's not a thing the Church likes being hidden."

Adrista nods. "That's smart. And if anyone from Faerghus asks you about it, you can simply say that it's something that all the ambassadors had."

"It's sad that that lie would work," Baila laments. Rius mutters something about the Kingdom's history of non-national education. "But Mihail, if you ever need anything, let us know. You too, Dedue."

"Thanks," Dedue says, noticing Bryn yawning. "We should probably get going."

"How are we going to communicate while you're out there?" Rius asks.

"We can try stone sending," Dedue answers. "I can do it, Adrista can do it-"

"I can!" Bryn brags, pulling a stone out of the ground. "I'll teach Rius how to do it."

"That should be enough," Towen says, thinking out loud. "You can probably teach Mihail, just in case you two get split up."

"Alright. Is everyone aware of what little plan we have?" Mihail asks. Everyone nods. "Great. I'm gonna go talk to Yuri, and then we'll be on our way."

"Stay safe!" Adrista says, hugging the two of them. "Tell us if something happens immediately, and _lux_ be damned I will tear this monastery apart to save you."

"Wow Adrista, save some protective anger for the rest of us." Bryn chuckles, patting Dedue on the back. The rest of the goodbyes go by slowly, no one really wanting Mihail and Dedue to leave, but soon Mihail is talking to the purple-haired man from before, and then they're back in Dedue's room, going over how to stone send and planning about what seminars to take over the week.

* * *

Dedue wakes up to Mihail's face in his chest. For a brief moment, he's reminded of the sleepovers where it was them and Adrista and Bryn and Cibor and Rius and-

There's a knock at the door. "Dedue?" Dimitri says, voice slightly muffled through the wood as the enchantments to dampen sound from the inside of rooms affect it. The knock wakes Mihail up, and the two break apart with grumbled greetings.

When Mihail leaves, Dimitri enters the room, and Dedue gives the prince a respectful nod. "Good morning."

"Good morning, Dedue." Dimitri is a bit more cheerful than he usually was in the morning, and on a closer look, Dedue spots the bags underneath his eyes. "I just came by to wish you well before I'm off."

"Thank you, Dimitri," Dedue says as he pulls out one of his uniforms. "Please try to stay safe while you are gone."

Dimitri's smile gets slightly wider. "I will! Thank you for your concern!"

Dedue's brain suddenly cuts out, registering Dimitri's words. They make sense, on one hand Dedue is pretty sure that he is the only person to not completely abide by royal standards while in private, but at the same time, he isn't sure if he cares for Dimitri or for the power that Dimitri has over Duscur.

The two don't have to be mutually exclusive. "I'm happy to give it to you, Your Highness."

* * *

Dedue is simply eating breakfast when Hubert takes a seat in front of him, obviously still sizing him up. They nod at each other and eat in silence until Hilda and Lorenz show up.

Hilda takes a seat next to Hubert. "Second in command breakfast together? Don't mind if I do!"

"I, again, apologize for her," Lorenz says as he takes his seat across from her, next to Dedue. Hubert looks like a rat trapped under a basket as he glances around the dining hall. Dedue already feels the headache forming at his temple.

Ashe takes a seat on the other side of Dedue, meekly waving at everyone else at the table. "Hello."

Everyone gives their greetings and the breakfast becomes a bit more bearable. They all discussed what seminars they were planning to attend. The glare that Hubert and Lorenz shared when they found out they would both be focusing on Reason seminars throughout the week is amusing.

"Hilda," Ashe says, causing the noble to sigh, "What seminars are you going to?"

She pouts. "Claude's being mean and making me go to ax training."

"Ax training?" Dedue asks. "I was also planning to go there. I hope you'll do well."

"Oh, go easy on me if we spar, alright?" Hilda pleads, "You're older, so you obviously are going to win!"

Dedue looks at Hilda, raising an eyebrow. His last birthday was his 18th. "How old are you?"

"I'm 16!" Hilda says. Lorenz coughs. She frowns. He glares. She sighs. "Alright, I'm 18."

The eyebrow goes slightly higher. "When's your birthday?"

"Uh, the 3rd day of the Pegasus Moon?" Hilda puts her fork down. "What's with all of the questions?"

"Oh, it's practically nothing," Dedue says, keeping his face passive. "I just want to congratulate you for having the advantage of being months older than me. Please, don't go easy on me if we spar."

Hilda's eyes widen as she realizes what just happened, Lorenz looks like he's morally torn, Hubert has a smirk on his face, and Ashe looks amused. Dedue gives everyone a respectful nod as he gets up and makes his way out of the dining hall.

* * *

After the morning semesters, Dedue manages to catch up to Mihail as the younger Duscis was sneaking out of the classroom his Reason lesson was in. "Is everything alright?"

Mihail jumps before relaxing at the sight of him. "I'm alright," he says, not looking alright. "The professor happens to be a Crest Scholar and it brought back some things."

"Well," Dedue starts, thinking quickly, "if you want to join me, I'm going to look at the Authority lesson that's happening in a few moments." This is a lie. Dedue isn't particularly interested in the Authority seminars, but he knows that Mihail is somewhat interested in the idea.

Mihail smiles, looking relieved at the idea. "I would love that. Thanks."

"It's no worry," Dedue states. "If this happens again, either try to find me or head to my room until you feel better." He ends up letting Mihail lead the way to the Authority session, and they sit together actively taking notes and paying attention.

* * *

The week goes by pretty quickly. Dedue manages to attend a good amount of lance, axe, brawling, and heavy armor seminars, and during the breaks he's busy talking to others in the monastery. It's easier to avoid the rest of the Faerghus four when he's able to quickly turn to Raphael and talk about training regimens, or when Dorothea asks him about his favorite songs. He and Petra had a great conversation of their childhood stories from non-mainland Fodlan, although he was very concerned about the large amount of attempts on her life.

Every other night has him and Mihail sneaking down to Abyss and reconnecting with the other Duscis, handing over books in subjects that they were not interested in.

"Sorry we can't get any weapons right now," they say every time, "The marketplace isn't open."

Everyone continues to assure them that it's fine.

All in all, it's a pretty good week to start his education at Garreg Mach.

So, when he wakes up one day to the house leaders coming back and the Officers Academy officially opening its doors, he smiles, says his prayers to Tellus, and gets prepared for the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we meet the Duscis. Adrista, Bryn, Cibor, and Rius are the rest of Dedue and Mihail's childhood friends, while Towen and Baila have found their place in the group.
> 
> Planning and talking and being near each other and secrets coming out. All the things you need in a friend group underground.
> 
> I am saying that Hapi is from Duscur. This is not a headcanon, this is a fact that IS simply forgot to put in the game and I am fixing it for them.
> 
> The fact that Faerghus couldn't pay enough attention to catch a lie about Crests, one of the things they hold most dear, is sheer dramatic irony and I love it.
> 
> Dimitri as a prince is not the same as Dimitri as a friend. Dedue knows this and struggles with it.
> 
> I don't know why, but writing the second in commands interacting with each other is hilarious. Ashe just kinda ended up there. Also, Dedue shutting down the whole "you look so much older" bs is something I would love to do irl, ngl.
> 
> Crests Suck, part 325.
> 
> I hate the fact that Dedue only has Blue Lion supports, so I'm changing that. Dorothea, Raphael, and Petra are definitely going to get a few scenes, and I think it would be funny if he and Lysithea had some sort of passive standoff, but other than that, I really have no idea who I want him to talk to.


	8. White Clouds: Incipere Rursus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> incipere rursus: to begin again, to start over

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi. in case you weren't able to tell, i am a black man. i started writing this au long before the protests started, but with the same principles as they state now. 
> 
> i wrote this au to really talk about how insidious the racism and xenophobia in game is, and now, really studying the ideals of fodlan, and especially faerghus, i see a lot of similarities between real life and fiction.
> 
> this au has carried, currently carries, and will carry the same sentiments as black lives matter, the same sentiments my gay black as carries because the systems of oppression and racism are the same. when the fandom joke is that the blue lions are cops, there is truth in that joke, especially thanks to the culture of chivalry and nationalism in faerghus.
> 
> the last time i tried to write this au (we talk at night), i found myself writing into faerghus' ideals when that would have done shit to support dedue and duscur, people who have been forcefully and purposefully wronged by a system that has brutalized, oppressed, and looted from them. that is why this version is being written now.
> 
> after spending some time protesting for my human rights and for the de-escalation and funding of the police, I am passing on information to those who need it.
> 
> i know that this fic isn't that big, but i feel that whatever i can do to help is important. [Here is a link to the most reputable and up to date repository of information.](https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/#)
> 
> if you (honestly, and in good faith) want to ask more questions, feel free to. i will not judge unless you want to try me.
> 
> Stay safe. Speak up. Do not let this pass.
> 
> mercury.

Dedue watched as Dimitri walked into the Blue Lions classroom, followed by a person he hadn’t seen in the monastery before. Teal hair, light armor, and a sword sat at their waist.

Soon, the entire house was called to the front of the classroom, and Dedue managed to stand next to Dimitri as he announced that Professor Byleth was going to be their teacher for the year.

“I don’t mind if you treat me as a friend.” Byleth said, casually nodding their head.

“Are you sure?” Dimitri asks, “We wish to show you due respect.”

Sylvain shrugged. “Hey, if the professor says it’s okay, shouldn’t that be enough. Unless Your Highness can’t consent to such a thing.”

Dedue sent the redhead a glare. Sylvain continued speaking. “I mean, we’re already speaking this way to our future king, so we may as well relax our speech with our professor too, right?”

Dimitri thought about it. “Well, we’re not in the Kingdom, so it only goes to follow that we should all speak companionably-”

Dedue and Felix make eye contact, and Dedue can tell that no “companionable words” will be spoken from the swordsman’s lips soon.

Dimitri sighed. “I concede. If the professor says it’s fine, we ought to accept that kindness gratefully.” 

Ingrid rubbed the back of her head. “I’m not sure I can manage.”

“You don’t have to force yourself if it’s too difficult.” Mercedes consoled. “You’re fine with that too, right, Professor?”

Byleth simply nodded.

“Such benevolence is a sight to behold!” Sylvain said, before wincing in pain as Mihail stepped on his foot.

Felix immediately takes the opening in the conversation. “Come to the training grounds later. I wish to test your skills in battle.”

Dimitri sighed. “Moving quickly, aren’t you Felix? Count me in for any such battle.”

“Excuse me,” Ashe said, “If it’s okay to watch as you battle-”

“Ashe, it’s better to join in then to watch!” Dimitri said. “Mercedes is an amazing healer for if you get hurt.”

Dedue sighed. “Please try to stick to the training weapons. And take care not to go overboard.”

Dimitri chuckled.“Dedue, you worry too much! Mihail can also heal us up.”

Mihail shrugged. “Sure. I’d be happy to practice it.”

The group meeting turns into a big organization on when best to begin training. By the time Byleth leaves to go to a staff meeting, there is still no consensus.

* * *

That Saturday is when Dedue finds out about the mock battle. Sadly, he finds this out by the frantic knocking on his door, Byleth throwing a pair of gauntlets at him, and Mihail hurriedly making sure that his uniform was in order before they had to go out to a practice field for the match.

Dedue is finally awake when he steps onto the grass, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "And why are you not fighting?" He asks Mihail, who is comfortably sitting down.

Mihail shrugs. "Only the professor and four students could go. Dimitri also has to be on the field because he's the house leader, and they chose to take you, Mercedes, and Ashe." There's a smirk on his face, and Dedue is sure that if they had been in Duscur, he would have followed with some sort of smug comment.

Luckily, Mihail cares too much about vanity right now and simply helps him organize the weapons he's using during the mock battle. It's only a few more minutes until Jeralt, the referee for the match, calls everyone to attention and starts the battle. Byleth immediately tells Dedue and Dimitri to run forward and hold off Lorenz and Ignatz, the two Golden Deer members standing far away from their group. As they make their way over to the duo, Dedue feels the hairs on the back of his neck stand up a split second before lightning hits him, causing him to grunt and stumble slightly. He looks up to see Dorothea blowing a kiss his way, a sly smile on her face as she recognizes his lack of affinity towards combat magic.

As he ducks into a patch of trees, he hears Byleth shout some more commands and suddenly he feels like a warm blanket has been wrapped around his shoulders as strength finds its way back into his arms. He quickly waves at Mercedes to signal his gratitude and watches as Lorenz charges Dimitri, the two of them exchanging blows. Ignatz and Ashe are also squaring off, their arrows nocked and bows drawn, but not fired yet. Keeping a close eye on Dorothea, Dedue steps through another patch of trees to swing at Lorenz, making a solid hit on the noble's torso that causes him to bow out. He hears an arrow whistle by his head and watches as Ignatz is distracted by a push of a training arrow, giving Ashe the opening he needs to release his arrow and hit Ignatz in the head. 

After the two Golden Deer members have bowed out, Dedue can spot Claude and Hilda saying things to each other as they back up from behind the wall that they barricaded themselves behind. Out of the corner of his eye, he spots Dorothea casting another lightning bolt and he just manages to duck out of the way, letting one of the trees he was standing by take the brunt of the force. 

Byleth runs forward and Dimitri follows to attempt to stop her, Mercedes pointedly staying behind so she can support them if she needs to. Byleth bows out after Dorothea dodges an attack and tags them with a spell, only for Hubert to follow up and blindside them with another one. Dimitri starts shouting orders now, and Ashe and Mercedes nock arrows, standing on opposite sides of the three Eagles. 

Dedue understands the plan almost immediately, running in with his axe and swinging it at Dorothea, who doesn't notice him in time to avoid the flat of the wooden blade as it hits her shoulder. She smiles and bows to him as she retreats, and Dedue looks up to see Hubert clasp his hands together, ready to cast another spell. 

Prepared to dodge it this time, Dedue finds it easier to avoid Hubert's magic than it was to avoid Dorothea's, although he also has the feeling that although it was slower, it definitely would have taken him out of the battle if it had hit him. Dimitri and Ashe work on him while Ferdinand attempts to swing at Mercedes, who somehow dodges it and fires an arrow back. Dedue holsters his axe and barely has enough time to put on his gauntlets before he pulls a fist back and punches Ferdinand in the chest, quickly following it up with another haymaker. For one moment, it feels weird that his fists don't hurt as much as he remembered that they would when he would sometimes spar with Cibor, but he quickly pulls up a bit of the earth to help soften a blow from Ferdinand's lance. There's a shriek of indignation from the red-haired noble before Dedue's fist lands in his stomach, and soon he's also leaving the field, though in a less dignified manner than he would have hoped for. 

After Dedue had finished his spar with Ferdinand, he looked up to see that the other three had managed to take on both Hubert and Edelgard and win. The four took some time to regroup, sharing vulneraries and taking breathers before they made their way forward, ready to take on the other two professors, Claude, and Hilda. 

Claude and Hilda had managed to place themselves on the outside of the forest, but in their planning, they seemed to have forgotten that although Claude was good with a bow, he could not aim in close quarters yet. Dimitri took the advantage, running in and striking at Claude with an astounding amount of force. Hanneman blasted magic at the prince, controlling the air with a more scholarly air and method than Mihail used. As Ashe and Mercedes dealt with him, Dedue and Hilda locked eyes and lifted their axes.

"I know we tied during the seminar, but could you please go easy on me?" Hilda asked, pouting. "I need to impress Claude so he'll give me back my bracelets!"

Dedue shook his head as he planted his foot down, pulling up a bit of the earth to cover his legs. "I'm sorry, but you're going to have to earn those bracelets." 

Hilda's face turned murderous. "I can't believe you're making me work!" She cried, running out of the trees with a look of vengeance on her face. Dedue was shocked at the amount of force behind her axe as the hard stone he had dug up leapt to block her strike. The axe cut through it as if it wasn't even there, and Dedue felt the weight of the swing fully settle in his chest, making him gasp for air.

There was a loud cry as Hilda suddenly backed off, the sight of blonde hair and a blue cape letting Dedue know that Dimitri had forced the other vassal to retreat. The warm blanket feeling washed over him again as Mercedes healed him, and he again quickly thanked her before he stepped into the trees, watching as Ashe placed one more training arrow on Hanneman's neck.

Manuela was the last person left. And somehow, she wasn't going down without a fight. What followed were the most agonizing twenty seconds of Dedue's life as she somehow managed to avoid every single attack that he and the other Blue Lions threw at her. What made it more insulting was the fact that she was also counter-attacking them successfully, tagging them with light spells that didn’t hurt a lot, but were just simply a nuisance. She dodged another of Ashe's arrows and brought her hands up to cast the spell again before she went pale.

Dedue heard her mutter, "Uh oh," before Dimitri's lance left his hand and flew directly towards her. Manuela shouted and ducked, just barely avoiding the blade before it stuck in the tree next to her. The four watched as she looked up and saw the lance buried to the middle of the shaft. "I give up."

"Well, with all strange things aside," Jeralt shouted, "This means that the winners of this battle are the Blue Lions!"

Sylvain, Felix, Ingrid, and Mihail combined cannot pull the spear out of the tree. Dedue gives it a test and is terrifyingly surprised at how much purchase it has in the lumber. Dimitri simply walks up and pulls it out, the Blaiddyd crest lighting up behind him.

* * *

After the feast, Dedue watched everyone else leave as he and Mihail were still eating. Claude slid into a seat on the other side of the table. “Good job during the mock battle today, Dedue.” 

“Thank you, Claude.” Dedue says, sliding his plate over a bit so Mihail could reach the piece of fish he was trying to grab. “You caused Hilda to put up a strong fight.”

“Yeah,” Claude says with a shrug, “Hilda’s great, but she just needs a bit of motivation to get her moving.”

Mihail laughed. “You did a great job. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone move so quickly in my life.”

“Thanks. I’m glad I can entertain you…”

“Mihail. And you’re Claude right?”

“Yeah, that’s the name, don’t wear it out!” Claude grinned and Dedue realized that this conversation was suddenly on a different level than he thought it was. “I like your hair.”

“Thanks.” Mihail offhandedly rubbed his chin twice before he gave the house leader a small smile. “I’m about to head to the library, and I’ve been trying to get someone to go with me.” He lied, his hands clasping together and thumbs twiddling. “Would you mind if-”

“Oh no, I would love to go to the library.” Claude said. “I’ve actually been planning to go there soon, and there’s better time than the present, right?”

“Right.” 

And so Dedue watches as Claude von Riegan and Mihail Cahn Vessyl both get up from the table, the look of a scheme present in both of their eyes. He briefly worries about the chaos that the two could cause together before Byleth takes a seat in front of him. “Hello.”

Dedue respectfully nods. “Hello, Professor. What can I do for you?” 

“I just did a favor for someone else, and they gave me some Duscur Bear.” They say, and Dedue’s stomach is suddenly empty again, the thought one of his favorite meats to cook with nearby. “I just passed by Mihail and he told me that you were the best cook between the two of you. Do you mind helping me?”

“I would love to.”

* * *

“I enjoy cooking.” He tells Byleth as the dish cooks. “You seem to know what you are doing.”

“Thank you.”

* * *

It’s when they’re eating shares off of the platter that they made that Byleth tells him that they want him to lead a battalion in a practice battle. Dedue accepts, although he can’t help but worry that he’s not going to do a good job at leading others.

* * *

The battalion is rowdy until Dedue punches out one of the “enemies” in the practice battle. Then all thirty of the battalion soldiers are ready to pay attention and listen to him. Mihail gives him a thumbs up as he runs by.

Dedue later spots two soldiers that are making their way towards Annette and quietly points them out to his battalion. The soldiers around him nod before they quickly get into formation, waiting for the command. 

He waits until the “enemies” are right in front of him to give the order. “Let’s do it. Now.”

The onslaught goes off without a hitch.

* * *

On the 25th day of Harpstring, Dedue watches as the monastery transforms for Saint Macuil Day. Streamers drape along the walls and towers, and banners adorned with Mihail’s Crest are everywhere.

Mihail looks tired of it all during breakfast. “I have already had several monks walk up to me with congratulations.”

“Shame.” Dedue says, taking a bite of his food. “Have they been treating you any better today?”

“Of course not!” Mihail groaned. “It’s always, ‘Oh, you’re so blessed to have Macuil’s favor!’ or ‘You should be grateful that the Strategist has chosen to bless you!’. I’ve even heard the occasional whisper about Duscur.”

The two look at each other and sigh, going back to their meal. After a while, when the two finish eating, Dedue notices a group of monks enter the dining hall. He fake coughs once to get Mihail’s attention as the monks spot them. Mihail looks up and quietly groans before putting a passive smile on his face.

The monks approach, and the one leading the group points at Mihail. “You. The archbishop requests your presence in her chambers before the ceremony.”

Mihail’s smile brightens, and Dedue can tell that he’s stolen the idea from him. “If she requests it, then who am I to refuse her?” 

The monk smiles, her hair braided with silver thread in honor of the saint. “That’s right! You learn rather quickly, don’t you?”

“Thank you for the compliment.” Mihail gets up from the table and steps towards the monks. Dedue watches as he tugs at his earlobe before he leaves and internally groans when he realizes that Mihail wants to meet up with him later.

He waits for the monks and Mihail to leave before he picks up his own tray and puts it in the pile to be washed. He has to get to the cathedral early to find seats for them.

* * *

Somehow, he finds himself standing by Ingrid and facing the choir director. Other choir members lean away from them as they struggle through the song.

For a brief moment afterwards, Dedue turns to face Ingrid and sees the same weariness on her face that he feels. And then Ingrid scowls at him.

* * *

Dedue sneaks down to Abyss alone that night, Mihail far too tired to do anything but sleep. He’s more used to the tunnels how, the stone and earth surrounding him now giving him a map to his friends.

When he shows up at the entrance, Cibor and Baila are waiting for him, talking to each other. Cibor sees Dedue and the bag that he’s carrying first and bursts into a big smile. “Hey! What’d you bring this time?”

“Jeez, Cibor, let Dedue breath before he thinks that you only care for his gold.” Baila teases, giving Dedue a hug. “Where’s Mihail?”

“He’s tired. It was Saint Macuil Day.”

Cibor frowns, having always been the most protective of Mihail. “Oh. Well I hope he’s okay.”

“He looked fine when I talked to him after the ceremony.” Dedue says, leading the way to the Duscis room. “He’s really done a lot today: he helped me with gardening-”

“He always does that.”

“-Practiced his magic-”

“He always does that.”

“-He spoke with the archbishop.”

“He always does-” Dedue can see the sparks nearly falling out of Cibor’s ears as he actually listens to what happened today. “Wait, what?”

Adrista looks up from her book as they enter the room. “What is Cibor talking about?”

“Mihail apparently had a talk with the archbishop.”

The book fell out of her hands as she stood up. “What? Is he okay?”

“He’s fine.” Dedue said, holding a hand up to calm her down. “He’s just really tired from the day. Having the only Crest of Macuil on the day for Macuil meant that he was very sought after.”

Adrista still looks unsure. “If you’re certain about it, I trust you.”

Baila claps her hands together. “If that’s taken care of,  _ habesne quid?” (What do you have?) _

Dedue rolls his eyes as he takes the bag off his shoulder and hands it to her. She gives him a smile and a curtsy as she takes the bag and pours out its contents on her bed. “Oh, these are nice.” She picks up a training sword and twirls it in her hand. “I can work with this.”

Rius yawns, sitting up in his own bed. “Hey, be careful before you poke someone’s eye out with that.”

Towen and Bryn enter the room as Baila pouts. “Please, I’m a Resiti.” She says as she puts the sword down anyway. “I don’t make mistakes with weapons.”

“That’s right!” Towen says with a smirk, joining their sister to look over the weapons. 

Bryn and Adrista work together to make the room brighter. Rius groans as he covers his eyes. “Too bright.”

“Sorry.” Adrista apologizes. Bryn laughs. Cibor throws a blanket over Rius’ face. The Resitis look at Rius and shake their heads. It feels like home again.

* * *

Dedue enters the cathedral, spotting Mercedes at the front of the altar, looking up at a statue of The Goddess. He pushes past the shivers that start to crawl down his spine and makes his way towards the blonde woman. “Mercedes?”

She turns around and he sees that her hands are clasped in front of her. “Oh, hello Dedue, Was there something you needed?”

“His Highness sent me to collect you.”

“I see.” She hummed, more to herself. “I’ll be with you in a moment. I’m almost finished here.”

Dedue waits, taking a seat in one of the pews as Mercedes turns around and continues praying. She smiles as she turns back around, finally finished a few minutes later, and Dedue stands up to walk with her. They get out of the cathedral before Dedue’s curiosity moves his tongue. “You were praying?”

Mercedes hummed. “I was.” She admits, “Praying for everyone’s safety. And praying for good desserts tonight, and that the greenhouse flowers will bloom.”

“The Fodlan Goddess will accept prayers of any sort?” Dedue asked.

“Yes, it’s true. I’ve thought the same thing myself.” Mercedes said with a giggle. “That reminds me, Dedue. Weren’t you born in Duscur?”

Dedue quickly glances over at Mercedes, trying to see if he can figure out what her intentions are. He doesn’t speak until they finish crossing the bridge. “Yes.”

“Do the people of Duscur pray to the Goddess too?”

Many stories and songs told by grandparents and elders fall into his head at once, but none of them are appropriate to say right now, so Dedue opts for a nicer route: “Duscur had a very different view of religion.”

Mercedes looks interested. “Oh?”

“In Duscur,” Dedue explains as they draw closer to the Officers Academy. “There were many gods. The sky had a god-”  _ Caelum _ “-the earth had a god-”  _ Terra. Or Tellus. _ “-we made an offering to the war god for victory in battle-”  _ Bellum _ “-and held feasts for the sea god to calm the waves.”  _ Unda. Or Aqua. _

“So your people prayed to different gods depending on what they needed?”

There’s a lot more when it comes to it, but Dedue thinks that Mercedes has the big picture understood, so he nods. “Correct.”

Mercedes’ smile seems to grow even brighter. “Your beliefs sound so different from ours! Would you mind telling me more later?”

“Why?” Dedue asks, stopping as the two stood in front of the Blue Lions’ classroom. “Duscur is a ruin now.”

“Duscur may be gone, but you’re still here.” Mercedes’ voice is soft, and Dedue notices sadness plant itself into her smile. He wonders about Mercedes and her life before they met. Did she have any tragedy? A burden to bear? He’s still thinking about it when Mercedes recovers from her thoughts. “Excuse me. If it makes you uncomfortable, I won’t push, but I would love to learn more about your beliefs.”

“If you insist.”

“Really? That would be great! I’m looking forward to hearing more soon.” Mercedes waves as she enters the classroom, a cheerful smile back on her face.

Dedue is left reminiscing over her words. “Duscur is gone, but I’m still here…”

* * *

The mission for this moon was very straightforward: Take out the leader of the thieves that attacked Dimitri and the other house leaders a while back. They had tracked the man and his band of thieves near the monastery, in a place called the Red Canyon.

As they come upon the Canyon, Mihail asks a question. “Why is it called the Red Canyon?”

“We don’t know.” Sylvain says, “There are many theories though. My personal favorite is one about The Goddess and her con-”

“Sylvain.” Felix snapped. “Do you still really believe that stupid wives’ tale?”

“Hey, those old ladies sitting in chairs were very wise. Maybe they knew the Goddess personally.”

* * *

During the battle, Byleth had ordered Ashe and Dimitri to go to an abandoned chest in the middle of the bandits’ camp. After dealing with the few bandits in the area, Dedue raised an eyebrow as Ashe darted around him and knelt in front of the chest. “Ashe, I have the key to the chest.”

Ashe paused for a moment, his shoulders tense. “I don’t need it.” He says, and Dedue realizes why his fingers sometimes twitch in class and Ashe looks slightly mortified about it afterwards.

Dedue decides to not push for more. “Alright. I’ll keep watch for more bandits.”

* * *

The last time they go into Abyss this moon, Dedue and Mihail find the other Duscis in a repurposed training ground. Towen is busy training Rius with swords, their wooden blades crossing as they dance back and forth. Baila and Cibor are also sparring, with Baila wielding an axe while Cibor has-

“How did Cibor get training daggers?” Dedue asks, and Bryn laughs as they roll out of their hiding place near the door.

“Towen took away his actual dagger after he accidentally stuck it in the ceiling.” They say, and Dedue can definitely see that happening. “He complained forever until I found some scraps of wood and burned them down to make those daggers.”

“You’re practicing your fire again?” Mihail asks, fake concern in his voice. “You have a bucket of water nearby, right?”

“That was one time! Cibor’s eyebrows grew back.” Bryn states, crossing their arms. They pout. “But yeah, there’s a bucket of water where I’m practicing my magic.”

“Wouldn’t let them practice without it!” Rius shouted as he parried Towen’s attack. “But it’s lovely to see you two again!”

“Stop talking during a fight!” The siblings shout, and everyone in the room becomes silent as the spars continue.

Towen and Baila both win their respective fights. As Mihail and Cibor heal everyone, Dedue looks around and notices that one person isn’t in the room. “Where’s Adrista?”

“Oh, she’s with Hapi.” Cibor said. “She wanted to learn how to ride a horse.”

“But Adrista hates horses.” Mihail said. “She’s hated them ever since that one festival.”

“I have my reasons for what I do.” Adrista said, walking in through the door and side hugging Mihail. “Besides, I was nine when it happened, I’m pretty sure I’ve gotten over it.”

“Possibly emotionally jarring events aside,” Towen interrupts, “How was it? Is Hapi doing alright?”

Adrista smiled. “It’s great! Hapi is really funny. We had a very lovely conversation about Duscur.”

“Oh yeah,” Cibor tapped his temple. “She’s of stars. I wonder how it’s like in the mountains.”

“She’ll probably tell you if you ask her.” Adrista says, creating a small ball of light. “She’s a sweetheart. Provided that you don’t make the Fodlan joke about her name, of course.”

* * *

Dedue makes it to his room after catching up with the other Duscis. He gets into bed and sits there for a few seconds. It’s quiet. It’s peaceful.

He prays to Terra, then to Tellus, and after a quick thought, he also prays to The Rising Flame before he falls asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's the cutscene for joining the Blue Lions.
> 
> Mock Battle. I like the idea of Dedue's passive working with his affinity for the earth. Also, Dorothea would definitely blow a kiss in battle, Ferdinand's confidence gets rattled super easily when faced with shit he doesn't know, Hilda is a liar, and Manuela just has a busted speed growth for no reason. Also, the crest of Blaiddyd is just broken.
> 
> Claude and Mihail bonding.... Dedue cooking!
> 
> Give Dedue the battalion. Stop giving it to Ingrid. She doesn't deserve it.
> 
> Saint Macuil Day is a headache for Mihail. Especially when everyone around you is gonna treat you like a model minority for the day. This borrows heavily from my life.
> 
> In game, Ingrid and Dedue joined Byleth while singing? Don't know who tf came up with that but I consider it violence against Dedue.
> 
> More scenes with the Duscis! Love them. 
> 
> Dedue and Mercedes C Support. From Dedue's perspective. It's revealed how Duscur thinks of Seiros, but I'm gonna stay quiet about that until it's brought up.
> 
> Ashe and Dedue solidarity.
> 
> Another Duscis scene! And Hapi is Duscis, I do not make the rules, I simply enforce them.
> 
> Terra and Tellus are the same diety: earth. The Rising Flame is the "biggest god" in the Duscur pantheon. Bryn's family follows them.


	9. White Clouds: Confortans Ashem

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Confortans Ashem: Comforting Ashe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello, it's your favorite gay black guy coming back at you with another chapter.
> 
> friendly reminders to try your best not to meme about arresting the officers behind black deaths, it's perfectly okay to flat out say "arrest the officers who killed breonna taylor" without any gimmicks, donate to well-researched LOCAL organizations and if you see the names Shaun King or DeRay McKesson attached to something, just ignore it, because they've been horrible people/organizers for years at this point and aren't showing that they can do better.
> 
> have fun, don't let the current movement die, and remember that if the most disenfranchised and marginalized communities have their rights respected, than everyone has their rights respected.
> 
> love y'all,  
> mercury
> 
> ps. I am like, 5 chapters ahead of this at the time of posting. So I'll probably post a chapter in celebration of Juneteenth (the 19th!) and then back on the saturday after Juneteenth's saturday.

During class, they learn about the certification exams coming up, and Dedue finds himself slowly tuning out as Byleth speaks. He tries to refocus and feels his leg bouncing quickly. He stops bouncing his leg, and realizes that he is inconceivably bored. He’s even more bored than he was on the carriage ride to Garreg Mach. 

He realizes he’s zoned out when a hand crosses in front of his face. “Dedue? Are you alright?”

His face heats up in embarrassment as he looks at Annette’s concerned face. “I’m alright. Thank you for your concern.”

“Don’t worry about it!” She chirps, a smile on her face. “Although, if you don’t mind me asking, why did you and Mihail switch seats today?”

The two both glanced at the table in the front, watching Dimitri and Mihail talk with each other as they read over their books. Dedue sighed. “Mihail wanted to start rebuilding Kingdom and Duscur relations earlier than he planned. Besides, I do not always need to be directly by His Highness’ side, right?”

Annette giggled. “That’s true. I’m glad you aren’t glued to his side, my own fath-” She cuts herself off and shakes her head. “Nevermind! Do you want to study authority together?”

Dedue wonders what cultural bug of Faerghus Annette was about to share with him. And then he decides to ignore it for now. “Sure. What are you reading about?”

* * *

They battle more thieves for training, and Dedue supports Mihail and Ashe as they fire arrows and magic at enemies, finishing up the bandits that don’t fall to his classmates and setting up easier targets with his battalion.

He spots an arrow flying towards him and stomps the ground, causing a piece of stone to leap into the air and block the arrow. The archer let out a scream of frustration before a ball of light and an arrow streak towards her. 

Dedue broke off from the pair as Ingrid came up to join them, her javelin flying forward to trip a bandit before Mihail’s spell hit. It causes the spell to miss, and Mihail’s indignant scream manages to distract a bandit long enough for Dedue to knock them out in one punch.

* * *

The next time they’re in Abyss, everyone’s sparring, the two Resite deciding that no one, not even the two Academy students should skip the use of the small arena. Dedue worked with Adrista as she wielded a lance, constantly trying to approach her as she did a decent job of fending him off. Dedue managed to catch the lance in between his gauntlets, and as he pulled it out of his hands, he felt Adrista’s fist tap his stomach and groaned. “You’re too quick.”

Adrista laughed. “You said that after we played hide and seek once as kids.”

“I did.” Dedue said, smiling at the memory. “But I really couldn’t keep up with you all.”

“Oh, you couldn’t.” She agreed, taking her lance back. “But then again, none of us could even think of catching up to Cibor.”

“Oh,  _ causa Ignis _ , we couldn’t even touch him. I still think he outruns us.”

“He does. It drives Yuri insane.”

* * *

On the way out, Mihail is stopped by Yuri, and as the two speak, Dedue notices the woman next to him. Brown skin, red hair, and sharp red eyes remind him of the stories about the  _ gens Astri _ , the small clan of Duscis families that lived on the other side of the mountains. The woman notices his stare and winks, lifting up one edge of her jacket to show a very roughly put together  _ gemma _ , the metal dark as night, pinned to it’s inside.

She nods, Dedue nods, and the interaction ends there. He and Mihail leave Abyss shortly afterwards.

* * *

The certification exams occur one weekend, and Dedue watches as Mihail and Annette look over their tomes as they walk into the room.

They both ace their tests. The entire class passes their own certification exams, and the rest of the day is spent fitting everybody in their new kits.

* * *

Dedue watches as Ashe finishes preparing the fish, nimble fingers moving deftly to clean it correctly. He steps in as Ashe starts adding salt and pepper, lightly tapping the countertop to let the archer know of his arrival.

“You do not need to add much.” He warns, standing next to the shorter boy now. “At this time of year the fish are fat. Simply grilling them will bring out their best flavor. Steaming them with herbs is delicious too.”

“Wow, you know a lot about this.” Ashe says, putting away the condiments with a warm smile. “I’m learning so much from you, Dedue. Were you a cook at the castle in Fhirdiad?”

Ingrid’s rancid cake pops into Dedue’s head. “No.” 

“Did your family own an eatery of some kind?”

“No.” Dedue sighed. “My sister and I helped with cooking at home.”

Ashe looked impressed as he lit the stove. “Wow, that’s all? I thought I was confident about my skills, but next to you, I feel like an amateur.” He finished checking the flame and came back to the counter to wait for the pan he was using to heat up. “Hey, could you give me some advice about other kinds of meat, besides fish?”

It’s a very tempting idea. At this point, Dedue has only really cooked for himself and Mihail, although he hasn’t ever missed his own dinner duty. Ashe seems nice enough, but-

“Ashe.”

“Yes, Dedue?”

Dedue made sure that he had direct eye contact with the archer before he speaks. “Why do you spend time with me?”

“We’re friends, right?” Ashe asks, brows coming together in confusion. “I just want to get to know you better. Is that so odd?”

In Dedue’s eyes, it isn’t. He would love to spend time with others more honestly. He would love to talk about childhoods and families and stories that you omit details and names from because you swore to keep it a secret, but it’s just too good not to share. However, by Faerghus standards-

“I am from Duscur.” Dedue says. What he doesn’t say is something already well-known: Thanks to the Kingdom, Duscur and their people do not have the best reputations.

Ashe scoffs as he gets up with the fish. “So? Look at me-” The fish starts to sizzle as he places it on the pan. “I came from a life of poverty. I was lucky to even be let in here, to study with all these high-class people. I think we have a lot in common.”

Dedue can’t help but raise an eyebrow. “Being poor and being from Duscur are two different things,” he notes, mostly out of benign spite.

“Oh, I know!” Ashe says quickly, somehow visibly and honestly apologetic about his past words with even saying an apology. “But we can still be friends, can’t we?”

Dedue lets the idea play in his head for a bit, a blob of amorphous clay. It slowly takes shape into something that seems better than what he has now. “You are a peculiar person.”

Ashe smiles as he takes off the first piece of fish and replaces it with the next. “So I’m told!”

Dedue ducks his head, trying to hold in his laughter. When he looks up, Ashe is facing the pan again, working on his task. It’s closer to the end of his cooking time that the kitchen door opens and Sylvain runs through and closes it behind him. The redhead pales as Ashe and Dedue looked at him. “Hey, Dedue. Hey, Ashe.”

Ashe waves. “Hello, Sylvain! What are you doing here?”

“I had a bit of a misunderstanding.” Sylvain says, a smile on his face. “I think I’m just going to wait here for a bit.”

Dedue taps the counter next to him. “This is not healthy, you are aware of that, right?” He kept his voice low, making the conversation private as Ashe started cleaning up.

Sylvain’s smile became slightly more strained. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Dedue,” he whispered back, “but it’s nice that you’re worried for me. Can I cash that in for some cooking lessons? I hear a girl loves a man who can cook.”

“Do you even want to date someone?”

The shaky smile turns into a pointed grimace. “Does it matter what any of us want? I’m going to have to be Margrave Gautier, some woman is going to win the bid to have my Crest baby-” Dedue still shivers at those words, “-and neither of us will truly be happy.”

“That’s,” Dedue starts, then stops, because this conversation is usually one that didn’t happen outside of Sylvain’s room when the sun went down. Something is wrong. “That is a very bleak vision. Is everything okay?”

Sylvain looks somewhat relieved, but guarded. He glances over to see Ashe nearly done with his task. “Do you mind if I tell you some other night?” He asks, and Dedue realizes that this meant that something had to have happened for this conversation to make any sense.

So he nods, Sylvain nods, and soon, everyone is in the dining room, eating dinner and talking about their days.

* * *

Fighting against Lonato was pretty easy. There was only one mage in the opposing army, and Byleth had managed to guide him away from the mage as Annette took the man down.

Watching Ashe accidentally kill Lonato was very difficult to watch. The adrenaline and terror on the lord’s face, the jumpiness that gathered in one arm, and the quick movement of Ashe running up to his adopted father came together to start the drastic chain of events.

However, Ashe was also running on adrenaline. Trying to beat Catherine to Lonato so she didn’t kill him, fighting people along the way, Ashe was alert enough to duck under the swing of the spear at his head.

He also had the muscle memory to quickly draw an arrow and pierce Lonato in the throat.

Ashe didn’t let anyone sit next to him on the carriage ride back. Dedue watches as Mihail nonchalantly sits in front of the archer and “just happens” to start floating an arrow above his hand. Annette’s excited about the show of magic, and soon there’s a small smile on Ashe’s face. His eyes still look sunken in.

* * *

Dedue heard a knock on his door right before he was about to go to sleep. When he went to open it, he saw Ashe standing there, eyes red and collar damp.

“Is it okay if I sleep with you tonight?”

Dedue simply nodded, allowing the archer into the room and closing the door behind him. There were no words spoken as the two got in bed, the only sounds in the room simply the sounds of breathing as they fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dedue says in game that he doesn't really like the formal classrooms, and I don't blame him.
> 
> Annette! Love her! This is a Gilbert-hate zone, specifically just for her.
> 
> Yes, I wanted to write the Duscis. Also, I just really like alluding to their childhoods. It's so peaceful and calming.
> 
> Hapi has her own gemma! We love to see it!
> 
> A weird mix of mostly Ashe's C support with a little bit of Sylvain's at the end.
> 
> Also, fun fact, this is the part of the game when I really started being critical of the church. Something about the situation just didn't sit right with me here. At least Ashe and Dedue have one of those quiet scenes that fades into black. Sometimes you don't need a big scene to show casual comfort.


	10. White Clouds: Potens Astra

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> potens astra - powerful stars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY JUNETEENTH. SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL BLACK PEOPLE.

The next day, Dedue enters the training grounds to see a crowd of people watching Mihail swing an arrow around him with wind magic. The sight of Mihail manipulating the arrow to swing around him while it stands on it’s feathered end brings memories back of Mihail playfully mimicking his older brother as he practiced.

For a few seconds, it feels like he’s in Duscur again, and he’s gladly showing off the customs to friends. So of course Dedue smiles when Claude challenges Mihail to shoot the target.

The arrow hits just outside of the bullseye before the wind knocks it over.

* * *

Dedue walks into the Blue Lions classroom just in time to see people in the room circled around something, staring intensely. Curious, he looks over the crowd and sees Ingrid and Mihail staring each other down. 

Mihail sighed. “Ingrid, you’re injured,” he says in a voice that sounds like he’s said this already. “Just let me heal you-”

“I can wait for Mercedes.”

“Ingrid, Mercedes is busy helping in the infirmary today. Just let me cast the damn spell.”

“And how do I know that’s all you’ll cast?” Ingrid asks. “For all I know you could curse me-”

“Galatea.” Mihail sighs, pinching his nose. “Can you actually hear yourself speak right now?”

Ingrid looked insulted. “I am simply being cautious.”

“You’re being paranoid.” Mihail corrected. “The professor is just going to tell me to heal you when they come in anyway.”

“And you can heal me while they watch.” Ingrid said. “Wouldn’t it be great for them to double check your technique?”

The room is silent for a few moments, everyone watching Mihail’s face contort into a sneer for a moment before he forces a passive smile. “You’re foolish. Remember this the next time you get hit with a lance to the gut.”

He turns away and the crowd around them scatters, people turning away and grabbing the nearest items near them. Dedue makes eye contact with him and sees the anger and tiredness in them.

Sadly, Ingrid also makes eye contact with Dedue, and waves him over. “Dedoo! Can you tell him to stop being so antagonistic!”

Dedue feels his mind go blank for a split second, but manages to keep his wits about him.  _ “Mihail,”  _ he says,  _ “anima non est digna tui tempore.”  _ ( _ Mihail, this fool is not worthy of your time. _ )

_ “Destiti.” _ Mihail pulls out some parchment and a tome and starts writing down notes. Ingrid looks satisfied. ( _ I will stop. _ )

Byleth walks in the door, and Ingrid raises her hand. “Professor? May I go to the infirmary? I’m injured.”

Byleth looks at her. Then at Mihail. Then back at her. “Why didn’t you ask Mihail to heal you?” They ask. Ingrid goes red. Mihail is still looking down at his notes, but Dedue could still see his smile.

That’s the smile of a Vessyl scorned. Dedue almost feels sorry for Ingrid, but it’s just a classroom issue. The worst thing that Mihail could do was maybe have Ingrid miss a seminar she wanted to go to.

* * *

During lunch, Dedue sits next to Mihail and across the table from Claude. This seat puts him in the best possible spot to see their casual conversation slowly stumble to a halt as soon as Linhardt took the seat next to Claude and placed a folder on the table.

“-so anyway,” Mihail was saying as he reached out to the folder, “that’s how you have to balance the arrow.”

“Interesting.” Claude said, also reaching for the folder. Their hands collided, and the two looked at each other in surprise for a brief moment. Claude chuckled. “So this is interesting.”

Mihail smiled. “Isn’t it? I didn’t know that Linhardt was doing a favor for you.”

“Neither did I.” Claude admitted. Both of their hands were still on the folder, fingers barely touching. “What was your favor about?”

“I’ll tell you if you tell me.” Mihail says, and Dedue can easily spot the challenge in his smirk as he says it.

Claude thinks for a few moments. “Alright,” he answers with a smirk. “I asked Linhardt to look up records for all four Crests of the Saints.”

“Hm,” Mihail hummed, nodding his head. His thumb taps the folder as he reaches further. “That’s interesting. I asked Linhardt to look up the history of Almyra’s royal family.”

“Oh, that is very interesting.” Claude says in an even tone. “Mind if I ask why?”

“I just wanted to read up on Almyra before I sent a letter in regards to diplomacy.” Mihail explained. “Some of the church records seem incomplete, so I asked Linhardt to try and fill in the gaps for me.”

Claude looks fascinated, but he still doesn’t take his hand off of the folder, or even move his fingers out from under Mihail’s. “That’s nice.”

“Thank you. But now I feel like I have to ask you why you were looking up records of the Saints. Is the church’s collection not enough?”

“Well, I just wanted to double check the monastery's information with whatever Linhardt could find.” Claude grins, leaning forward. “Is that such a bad thing to want to cross-reference things?”

Mihail leaned forward too, resting his elbow on the table. “It’s not, but I just want to know why you think this folder is for you.” Both of them still had a hand on the folder. On a whim, Dedue drops a fork on the ground to see if that breaks the spell.

Neither of them react. 

“Well,” Claude starts, “I asked Linhardt to do this yesterday afternoon in the library.”

“Funny.” Mihail remarks, “I asked Linhardt to do this yesterday afternoon just before he went into the library. So he could’ve done either one.”

“He could’ve.” Claude agreed. “I think he’s done mine though.”

Mihail smirked, silently pulling Claude’s hand and the folder closer to him. “Careful, Claude. Some people are very confident before they’re completely wrong.”

“Luckily,” Claude says, twisting his hand upwards to grab Mihail’s wrist. “I’m not wrong.”

Before Dedue could blink, the folder was open and the two teens were looking at the piece of paper inside of it. There was a long silence as their eyes scanned the page.

Claude broke the silence. “He wrote both of them on here.”

“I was about to tell you,” Linhardt said, lifting his head, “but I was very tired.”

* * *

The next time that the entire Blue Lions house meets again, it’s to hear Byleth outline the plan of protecting the Holy Mausoleum. It makes sense, a note so obviously placed on a powerful figure is very suspicious.

“Alright, what’s the layout?” Mihail asked.

Byleth shrugged. “We don’t know. The mausoleum is closed to everyone except the archbishop. This meeting is to make sure that no one has any qualms about who they are grouped with.”

Dimitri raises his hand. “Excuse me, Professor. I do not wish to insult your skills, but I do have some qualms about leaving Mihail to guard the entrance.”

Byleth’s head tilted, glancing at Mihail for a moment before returning to Dimitri. “Interesting. Where do you want him to be?”

“I think it would be best if Mihail was with Dedue and I.” Dimitri states in a confidant tone. Mihail looks at the prince with a confused face.

“Explain.” Byleth says, the same blank look on their face.

“Dedue and I are not used to defending against magic.” Dimitri’s tone is slightly less confident. “Mihail-” He also glances at Mihail for a moment, and the quick smile that Mihail gives him seems to send enough air under Dimitri’s wings to keep him talking. “Mihail is proficient in fighting with magic, and is also a notable healer. The three of us could easily defend each other from any threats.”

Byleth mulls over Dimitri’s reasoning, looking at a piece of parchment at their desk. “That can work.” They say, nodding. “Good job, Dimitri. Mihail, you’ll be going up the left side with him and Dedue now. Try to study more of your Reason skills this week.”

Mihail simply nodded. “Yes, Professor.”

* * *

The next time Dedue and Mihail enter Abyss, they’re met with the blade of Yuri’s sword at their heads. The purple haired house leader does not look too pleased with them. “When did you tell them?”

Mihail stepped out from behind Dedue. “Tell who?”

The blade points itself in between Mihail’s eyes. “Your professor.” Yuri says calmly, as if he’s not brandishing a weapon. There’s a threat in every bit in his voice, and Dedue has the urge to see if he can make the ground swallow him up before he could harm Mihail. “When did you tell them about Abyss.”

“I never told anyone about Abyss except the people who you have seen me with, Yuri.” Mihail states, looking back at the man as though the sword doesn’t exist. “If my professor ended up down here, that has nothing to do with me or mine.”

There’s a long silence that mingles with the tension in the air before Yuri lowers his sword. Dedue slowly and quietly lets himself breathe again. “So,” Yuri says, tapping the sword on the ground, “the professor and their six students have nothing to do with you.”

“Who are the six students?” Mihail asks. The woman with the black  _ gemma _ shows up from a passing crowd.

“All three aboveground house leaders, a girl with pink hair and an axe, a boy with silver hair and a bow, and another boy with green hair and magic.” She says, counting them off on her fingers. “Any of them sound familiar to you?”

“Edelgard, Dimitri, and Claude are the house leaders. Archer is Ashe, magic is Linhardt, and the pink-haired girl is-”

“Hilda.” Dedue finishes for him, having had more interactions with the girl as a vassal then Mihail would have had as a student.

Yuri laughed. “So you do speak. Nice to know. But yeah, we met them and now they know about Abyss.”

Dedue looked down the main passageway of Abyss to see if there was any sign of them. “Are they here now?”

“No.” Hapi said simply. “They just left.”

“Great. Don’t let them know we’re here.” Mihail says, waving at Yuri. “It was nice talking to you, Yuri. Let the other two know I said hi.”

“Sure.” Yuri waves and walks away. Hapi goes to do the same, but Mihail is in his element now.

_ “Mane. Veni cum nos. Cupimus dicere cum te.” (Wait. Come with us. We want to talk with you.) _

* * *

The nine of them are in the Duscis’ room, close enough to each other that they can whisper and it would be easily heard in the small space. Rius is sitting on Bryn’s lap as they start braiding his hair. Cibor was sitting in between Baila and Towen, both of them seeming to be in an argument with each other. Dedue raises an eyebrow at Cibor and he just shakes his head. Adrista and Hapi are sitting on Adrista’s bed. Mihail, sitting next to Dedue, starts the conversation.  _ “Quis tu?” (Who are you? [(informally) Introduce yourself.]) _

Hapi wrinkles her nose.  _ “Muta verbum tuum. Sed sum Hapi Fluctus Astri.”  _ She says smoothly, laughing at the look on Mihail's face.  _ (Change your dialect. But, I am Hapi Fluctus of the stars.) _

_ “Dicis bene.”  _ Rius notes.  _ (You speak well.) _

Hapi shrugged.  _ “Me sum Duscis, quod cognosco.”  _ Her tone is slightly smug at the end of the sentence, and she seems to wink and have a small star fall out of her eye. The subtle show of her connection to Astrum leaves no room for argument.  _ “Dicemus solum modum Duscis cur?” (I am Duscis, <of course> I know it. / Why are we only speaking in Duscis?) _

_ “Non cupimor populum audiere nobis forte.”  _ Mihail says. Everyone thinks about it for a few moments, and then nods.  _ (We don’t want <other> people to <overhear> us.) _

Hapi laughs. Then she, in slightly broken Duscis, lets them know that no one else in Abyss bothers her. And she’s also out of practice.

“Alright,” Adrista says, her voice letting everyone else know that there is no room for debate.  “So, what is this conversation about?”

Everyone in the room turns to face Mihail. Mihail rolls his eyes before he starts talking. “Dedue and I are going with the rest of the Blue Lions into the Holy Mausoleum at the end of the moon.”

“The Holy what?” Bryn asks, incredulous.

_ “Tempulus.” _ Towen says.  _ (Temple.) _

“I know what a mausoleum is. Mostly.” Bryn looks concerned. “I’m pretty sure that there was a book somewhere here that talks about it. Isn’t it off limits to everyone?”

“Obviously not.” Cibor says, somehow now laying upside down on the bed. “They’re letting students in it.”

“We’re supposed to keep watch in it for a burglary.” Dedue says, “The Mausoleum is only open to us this one day.”

“Why aren’t the Knights watching over it?” Rius asks as he moves to the floor in front of Bryn. “Surely they have enough forces to patrol it.”

“They don’t.” Dedue states, giving the room a light shrug. “The Knights will be guarding the Archbishop for the entire day. The Eagles are guarding the vault, The Deer are guarding the marketplace-”

“And you all have to cover a place that you have no idea about.” Baila finishes. “How are you supposed to plan for that?”

Dedue sighs. “Ask our professor.”

“Your professor is a nut.” Hapi says, “I’d rather not.”

* * *

The next morning, Sylvain looks surprised as he sits next to him. “Hey.”

Dedue nods. “Hello.”

Sylvain’s face shows his surprise turning into confusion before settling on concern. “Is everything alright?” He asks, voice low. “You weren't in your room last night and I didn’t want to give you my problems if you already have something you’re going through-”

“I’m alright.” Dedue says, hiding his alarm at being caught out of his room. Sylvain was probably smart enough to figure out where Abyss was if he smelled an inch, and Dedue was not going to let that happen. “I was in Mihail’s room.”

“Oh.” Sylvain looks relieved. “Is Mihail okay?”

“He’s fine. It is a Duscis matter.”

Sylvain smiles, and Dedue thinks he’s bought the lie. “Cool. Do you mind if I stop by tonight?”

Dedue thinks about it for a moment. Sylvain has been getting better about not unloading his trauma onto him without asking, only letting smaller and smaller details accidentally slip. It’s obvious whenever it happens now too, Sylvain stops speaking for a few moments and goes bright red, almost the same red as his hair- “Dedue?”

“Sorry. I should be free to talk tonight.”

* * *

In the afternoon, Dedue is waiting outside of the classroom for Mihail’s reason seminar to end. He’s expecting their usual routine: Mihail comes out, Dedue meets him, and they walk to dinner together.

What he’s not expecting is for the door to the classroom to be launched open violently. Or for the little girl who is scarily good at magic to be dragging Mihail towards the main building, a determined look on her face. Mihail is just able to tell Dedue, “Sorry-” before he disappears, gone with the small demon with white hair.

Dedue is still trying to process what he just saw when he hears laughter behind him, turning around to see Dorothea at the door of the classroom. “Lysithea is a very determined young woman.” She says with a big smile.

Dedue nods. “I see.”

“But Mihi will be fine.” She says assuredly. “He told me that you and him go to dinner after this, and now that he’s going to be busy, I wonder if you’d love to escort a lady to the dining hall.”

She holds out her arm, and Dedue feels compelled to take it, the two simply linking elbows, hers under his.

“Mihi?” He asks, curious about the nickname.

“Oh, it’s a habit I have.” Dorothea explains with a giggle. “No one’s name is safe. Hubie included.”

Dedue is mildly impressed that Dorothea is either charming enough to be able to call Hubert “Hubie” or confident enough that she can escape an assassination attempt. “That’s an interesting habit.”

“It is, isn’t it?” She hums. The dining hall is almost in sight. “Hey, Dedoo, what habits do you have?”

“It’s Dedue.” He says on reflex, ignoring the stone that seems to be his heart at the moment. “Dedoo is…”

Dorothea frowns. “Oh, I’m sorry.” She apologizes, and Dedue is about to accept her apology before her eyes widen. “Wait, isn’t Ingrid in your house?”

The obsidian heart in him seems to drop. “Yes,” he sighs, “she is.”

“And she doesn’t know how to pronounce your name?” Dorothea asks. Dedue knows the brick wall he’s built up must have shattered, or maybe he’s been quiet too long, or maybe Dorothea is just very good at reading people, but either way she gasps. “I’m going to knock some sense into her the next time I see her,” she mutters, anger in her voice.

“You don’t have to-”

“I will anyway Dedue, but just for you, I’ll be slightly gentle.” Dorothea waves a hand, and her smile is back on her face. It’s so quick it reminds Dedue of Sylvain whenever he’s talking about Gautier, or Mihail and Dimitri when they’ve just had an episode and doesn’t want anyone else to know. For a split second, Dedue wants to ask what plagues Dorothea, what goes on in the Empire.

“Thank you.” He says instead as they join the line for food. “What do you want to eat?”

“Hm, I don’t know.” Dorothea looks like she’s in deep thoughts for a few moments before shrugging. “Surprise me, Duei.”

Dedue chuckles. “Duei?”

“Deddie is boring.” Dorothea says simply, as if it made all the sense in the world. “Besides, Duei sounds a lot cooler than Hubie.”

“Please do not let Hubert hear that.”

The two are silent for a few moments before they can’t hold in their laughter.

* * *

Sylvain sneaks in that night. Dedue has a pot of tea steeping, with two mugs already set aside for later. No words are said as the redhead takes his seat at the desk. Dedue rolls his eyes before he grabbed his second chair and sat down next to him. Dedue can’t help but notice the fist that Sylvain’s hand is making around a piece of parchment. “Is everything okay?”

“I got a letter a few days ago.” Sylvain says, placing the piece of parchment on the desk. “Miklan ran from Gautier territory, heading south.”

“And this concerns you. Why?”

Sylvain just sighs. “He got angry at my dad. So, he ran off. The last thing a servant heard as he rode off the premises was threats towards me.”

The difference in supposed anger and action doesn’t make sense, Dedue realizes. “If he’s angry with your dad, why would he travel all this way to harm you?”

“It’s a routine,” Sylvain says, and Dedue feels like every scrap of information he had been able to get out of the man is finally about to come together. “Neither of us like Crests. So, I was 5 one day and we had an idea. Maybe a Crest can be used up.”

Dedue raised an eyebrow. “I do not think that’s how it works.”

“You’re right.” Sylvain laughs, a shallow imitation of one. “So, Miklan thought it would be better if he tried to remove it from me. That was the first time I was in the well.”

The room seems to still. Dedue really has to fight to keep his face even as anger and horror threaten to either choke him or force him to speak. A few moments pass before he swallows it down. “So,” he starts, praying to the wind that his voice sounds even, “You were in a well at 5. In the cold weather. Because of your brother.”

“I mean, I should have fought him off-”

“Sylvain. You were 5.”

“But-” Sylvain stops talking, eyes glassed over. Dedue didn’t say anything. Sylvain looked like he was trying to get a carriage out of the mud without giving the wheels stable ground, wood and dirt just spinning everywhere. “But I had a Crest. I had more power than him.”

And there’s the problem with the first of Faerghus’ cornerstones. “Sylvain.” Dedue says with an authoritative tone, waiting for the redhead to face him. He makes direct eye contact. “Do you remember the last time we sparred?”

The glassed-over look fades a bit. “What? Yeah.”

“Your lance didn’t touch me once. Even when you hit, you didn’t do any notable damage.” Dedue waves a hand and causes a few rocks to jump into his hand. “Even when you were using your Crest, you couldn’t harm me. I don’t have a Crest.”

Sylvain doesn’t speak for a minute, and Dedue assumes he’s processing the thought. The glass doesn’t fully shatter, but there are cracks in it. The thin shale that Sylvain had built this tower in was slowly crumbling.

Sylvain slowly stood up. “Yeah, I think I get it.” he mutters, and Dedue is somewhat concerned about the lack of a cheerful facade. “Um. I’m sorry if I was a jerk earlier. At any time.”

Dedue just nods, not sure what he’s doing now. Adrista or Rius would be better at this, maybe even Cibor. 

Sylvain puts a small smile on his face and waves. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Are you alright walking back to your room?”

“I’m fine. I think I’ve never been better. Thanks, Dedue.”

After Sylvain leaves, Dedue grabs his things and prepares for another trip to the sauna. At this rate, the stress from Faerghus and it’s issues would get him before any of it’s more openly hateful citizens could.

* * *

Fighting with Mihail and Dimitri is an interesting experience, Dedue realizes as the three slowly make their way up the wide aisle. Dimitri fights like he always had: explosive, with powerful strikes that serve a purpose and leave a message, and although it’s brutal, there’s a small touch of care, a little bit of humanity that aims to incapacitate, not kill. Mihail fights like he dances: light steps and quick hands sending out gusts of wind and waves of a darker, more powerful magic that doesn’t seem to be deadly at first, but part of the fighting for Mihail is to have his enemies underestimate him first.

Dedue quickly pulls up a stone wall before an axe bites into it, the wielder angrily yanking it out. As if it was planned, Dimitri throws a javelin at the same time Mihail launches a wind spell, the two both hitting the fighter at the same time and knocking him out. In a flash, a light gust of wind brings the javelin back into the prince’s hands, the two share a nod, and Dedue falls back behind them as he sees a mage coming towards him.

Soon, the three were in front of the leader of the thieves in the mausoleum. Mihail and the mage get into a duel of magic, lights and shadows flying between them. Dimitri runs in to try and stab the mage, but gets thrown back by a beam of light.

Dedue sneaks in from the side, whispering to Mihail.  _ “Operi me.” (Cover me.) _

Mihail launches an even more powerful spell as Dedue takes a step back, trying to distract the mage from the flank. Dedue can see the mage working hard to resist the spell, and he quickly rushes forward. As he nears, he sees the mage manage to throw off the effects, and a hand comes up to face him, filling with magical energy. Dedue still runs forward, preparing to stab with his spear.

There’s a loud whistle, and the mage’s arm reacts, forcing the spell to shoot away from him into the air. The point of Dedue’s spear pierces the mage’s shoulder, and by the end of it, the mage is sprawled over the tomb, his blood on the spear. Byleth approaches and nods at the three students before stepping in front of them as the mage frantically fishes out a strange sword.

The sword breaking through the mage’s shield is one of the most violent ends to a fight that Dedue’s seen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh you already know Mihail was doing that because Ashe was upset and then just revelled in the attention. Out of all the Duscis, Mihail is like, the most direct of an insert and that is something I would do. Oh, and I 100% think that the arrow dancing is a lot like flow wand.
> 
> Ingrid getting consequences for being racist. We love to see it.
> 
> Claude v. Mihail. Dedue simply watches this with disbelief on his face. Linhardt is just there.
> 
> Honestly, Byleth is so unnerved by the fact that Mihail is there because he never existed until this cycle. So, get ready for there to be a trend of Byleth trying to subtly distance Mihail away from the Blue Lions.
> 
> Cindered Shadows BS. You hate to see it.
> 
> Hapi! We love to see her! And she's interacting with all of the Duscis... We Got All Nine Of Them Together!!! This is a Postive Vibe Zone Only for Hapi. Also, as much as I would love to, I am not good enough in Latin/Duscis to write in entire conversations.
> 
> Sylvain and Secrets. 
> 
> Dorothea! I would first like to mention Arcane_Artisan for somehow living in my head rent free, good job for you. I kept up her nickname habit with Duei (D-way-ee), and decided to have her be the direct agent in confronting Ingrid because I refuse to believe that she would let Ingrid slide with that behavior.
> 
> Sylvain and Crests. Whoo boy. I kinda feel bad for him because he both hates Crests and also thinks that Crest supremacy is a thing, which just allows him to really dig a hole through the planet in self-hatred. Luckily, this is step one to unlearning all that mess.
> 
> Mihail and Dimitri as a team would be terrifying. The Mausoleu doesn't really introduce anything new, but I enjoyed writing this scene because it didn't feel like complete action, even though it was definitely complete action.


	11. White Clouds: Fratres Pugnantes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fratres Pugnantes: Brothers Fighting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello! it's saturday! we're going back to 1 chapter every 2 weeks now, i jujst wanted to celebrate juneteenth last time.
> 
> anyway have fun and think critically about the media you like.

The Crest of Flames. Professor Hanneman is an excited mess about everything for the whole week after the mission. It’s the first time that Dedue learns about Relics, and everything about the concept seems too good to be true. There are certain weapons that only those with a Crest can use safely? And when Crest bearers use it, there’s a special power with them?

Dedue freezes on the words “Crest bearers”. He thinks about Sylvain, what he’s learned through having Crests. He thinks about Felix, who is willing to throw himself into battle because as long as he has a weapon in his hands, it seems like the Fraldarius Crest is alight more often than it’s not. Dimitri, Ingrid, Annette, and Mercedes seem content with their Crests: Dimitri and Ingrid’s strikes being even more powerful with them, and Annette and Mercedes always seeming to relax a bit, an extra reserve of energy filling in from nowhere.

One thing that Dedue knows about magic, energy, and anything relating to it, is that something can’t come from nothing. It’s the story of  _ Unda et Caelum _ , the sky cannot rain unless the water gives them what they need. To get something, you have to give something. Trades work in this knowledge, and even in Fodlan, where bartering seemed to be long lost, you still have to hand over gold for whatever goods you want.

And Dedue thinks of Mihail, who was forced to adopt a Crest. Once in Faerghus, during one of his free days, Dedue spent the entire morning taking care of Mihail, who could barely open his eyes without pain. What was Mihail forced to give up for his magic to be slightly stronger?

What is the professor’s price for holding what is apparently the strongest Crest in the world? Dedue doesn’t want to even think about it.

* * *

The second thing about Crests that makes Dedue feel like quicksand is how divisive they are. He sees it from the Gautier brothers, but the church’s celebrations throw it into his face.

One day during lunch, Dedue walks in to see all the students with Crests sitting at one table. Edelgard, Dimitri, Claude, Linhardt, Lorenz, Felix, Ingrid, Lysithea, Bernadetta, Hilda, Ferdinand, Sylvain, Annette, Marianne, Mercedes, and Mihail. A few of them, mostly Annette and Hilda, look excited, just simply happy to talk to others. Others, like Bernadetta, Linhardt, Marianne, and Ingrid, seem to just want it all to be over with. Some people are stiff backed and quiet. The house leaders and a few seem to be in a smaller group, having a respectable conversation. Edelgard and Dimitri and Claude and Ferdinand and Lysithea and Mihail-

Mihail makes eye contact with him and smiles, waving him over. Dedue almost takes a seat at the table when one of the priests clears her throat, staring at him.

“I apologize,” she says in a tone that is not apologetic, “but this table has been reserved for those who carry Crests. You will have to find somewhere else to sit.”

“Oh, that’s fine.” Mihail states, “He can be my plus one.”

The priest’s sweet smile turns bittersweet. “I’m afraid that’s not possible for today. Maybe you should reschedule whatever meal you had planned together for tomorrow.”

“I personally don’t see what the problem here is.” Edelgard states, looking at the woman with a piercing gauge. “As practitioners of the church, we should be following the Goddess’ teachings about community and bonding, shouldn’t we?”

“Well, yes, but-”

“Edelgard, stand down.” Dimitri speaks, a passive expression on his face. “What’s the harm in following the church’s activities?”

Dedue is reminded of Lonato. And the monk of the Western church. And how simply Rhea condemned everyone that the Blue Lions had carefully incapacitated to death.

Ferdinand hummed. “I am curious about why the church has decided that all the Crest users need to come together, but if it’s for one dinner, I don’t see the issue.”

Claude and Lysithea look like they’ve just eaten a slice of lemon at the same time. “Either way,” Lysithea starts, her tone careful and measured, “it is strange that we aren’t able to eat with those in our house. Or that we can’t choose who we eat with today.”

“But you can!” The priest nearly shouts, drawing attention from the rest of the table. “You have so many wonderful people here at this table. And you can all talk about the one thing you have in common.” There’s a look in her eyes that Dedue can’t begin to figure out, an emotion buried deep under sands of devotion.

“Not to burst your bubble or anything, but it looks like some people don’t even want to be here.” Claude points out, and Bernadetta started frantically nodding her head.

The priest looks like she’s ready to break an oath she swore ages ago before gasps fill the dining hall. Everyone looks at the door to see Archbishop Rhea enter the room and pick up a plate of food as if it were a normal Saturday. She makes her way to the table of Crest users and takes a seat next to Dimitri. “Greetings, everybody.” She says, with a smile full of warmth, “I do hope that I am not late to the occasion.”

The priest recovers in record time. “Of course you haven’t, Lady Rhea. I was just escorting this man away from the event that’s specifically for Crest bearers.” She glares at him as she says those last words and Dedue feels like his welcome has been overstayed. He waves at Mihail before walking away, fully aware that the priest is following him until he finds a seat across from Dorothea and Petra. The three share looks before they start eating, light conversation between the three throughout the entire meal

* * *

That night, Dedue is sitting on the ground in front of Mihail as he combs through his hair. It’s getting longer, at his shoulders now, but Dedue doesn’t feel like trimming it right now.

“How do you want me to tie your hair back?”

Dedue thinks about it for a moment. His usual hairstyle is nice, but it’s starting to get old. “Surprise me.”

Mihail laughs, and Dedue feels his fingers working to part his hair. “I’ll give you a small braid.” Mihail says, already starting. “Hopefully it can stay together throughout tomorrow.”

“I only have a brawling seminar tomorrow.” Dedue notes, staying still so Mihail’s braid can be as neat as possible. “As long as it can work through that, it should be fine.”

When Mihail finishes, Dedue finds himself in front of a mirror, looking at himself. He takes the time that he should be spending on looking at his hair staring at himself. His face looks rough, like a cliff face that’s been shipped away by the sea. Dedue knows that he usually wasn’t the most expressive person, but his eyes still hold their fluidity and warmth, both a natural hot bath and scolding lava, whichever he needed at the time. He looks at his hair now, and follows the ridge that the braid forms from his temple until it disappears at the back of his head, only to reappear in the ponytail.

He glances over at Mihail in the mirror, and in that quick glance he can spot so many similarities and differences. Both of their skin tones are going back to their healthy and darker colors now that they’re out of Faerghus. Dedue’s green eyes are solid, expansive forests that grow and shift but still stand strong, and Mihail’s eyes contrast a sharp green breeze and a dull brown swaying of a feather. Dedue stands as tall as a mountain, and while Mihail isn’t short, there is still a lack of muscle that leaves him in a very concerning state. Both of them have longer hair now, and Dedue can barely remember when Mihail kept his hair cut low because-

“Did I do a bad job?”

Dedue looks in the mirror for a bit longer. Then he smiles. He smiles at their wide noses and fuller lips and darker skin and  _ gemma _ dangling on their ears and anything else that marks them as Duscis through and through. And for a moment, it feels like he’s back in Duscur, with everyone currently hiding under Abyss just talking to each other as they cook, eat, play, and do each other’s hair.

He shakes his head. “You did a good job, Mihail. I was just lost in thought.”

* * *

The next morning, Dedue adds more food to Mihail’s plate. He makes eye contact with Raphael as the blond haired man does the same with Ignatz. They nod and go back to their business.

* * *

Halfway through the month, Byleth asks Dedue to support Mihail in a practice battle. Dedue spends the entire fight keeping an eye on Mihail’s flank as he and his battalion find themselves in the thick of the battle. At one moment, Dedue sees Mihail dodge a blow from a gauntlet and quickly brings up a wall of stone to stop the next attack. Mihail sends a strong gust of wind over the wall before disengaging, getting into a defensive stance.

“Thanks for the-” Mihail ducked under the attack and Dedue caught the next blow. “Thanks for the help.”

“It is no issue. Should I go deal with him?”

“Don’t bother.” Mihail says with a smirk, and Dedue isn’t really surprised when he whistles and the mages send a bolt of lightning down a line of enemies.

* * *

The day that they receive their mission at the end of the month is the day that Dedue swears that the world has it out for Sylvain Jose Gautier.

“The eldest Gautier brother has managed to break into the tower and use it as a base of operations.” Seteth said, noticeably keeping his gaze away from the redhead. “It is reported that he is currently wielding the Lance of Ruin, and thus is now a wanted person by order of the Archbishop, Lady Rhea, herself.”

Byleth nodded. “Thank you Seteth. I believe that we’ll be off on the last Saturday of the moon. Will the Church provide any aid?”

“There is a knight used to the Kingdom’s customs, Gilbert. He will be accompanying you.”

* * *

Dedue walks out of his Brawler class exams, holding his kit in his hands when Dimitri comes up to him. “Dedue!” He says, panting. “Would you mind accompanying me to meet up with Gilbert?”

Dedue simply nods, placing his kit in his bag and following Dimitri to the dining hall. They grab their plates and take a seat near an orange and grey-haired man in armored robes. “Greetings, Your Highness.” The man, Gilbert, says.

Dimitri nods. “Hello, Gilbert. This is Dedue.”

Dedue simply nods at the man, trying to put together where he’s seen that orange color before. It had to be sometime while he was at the castle, although it could have been while at the monastery.

Gilbert nods back, and the three eat dinner in relative silence. At the end of it, Dedue stands up, excusing himself, and sees Annette looking at the three of them with strong emotions in her eyes. Her orange hair catches Dedue’s eye, and for a few seconds, he wonders if the two are related.

Either way, it’s none of his business if neither of them ask him about it, so he hopes that Annette is feeling okay and walks away, getting out of the dining hall as fast as he can.

* * *

Bernadetta is a very quiet person.

She’s also so timid, Dedue wouldn’t be surprised if the shy rabbits around the monastery ended up hunting her one day. But either way, she seems to not mind his presence in the greenhouse when they both end up inside of it every now and then.

Dedue sees her shoulders tense up as he enters the greenhouse now, and he simply says nothing and heads to his small plot of soil, a few meters away from hers. As he started digging through the soil, creating small pockets to plant seeds in later.

He hums to himself as he waves his hand over the freshly tilled soil, singing a song to Tellus about nurturing, care, protection, and comfort. His hands warm up and the dirt starts to shake as his magic infuses itself into it. It reminds him of home, of Ge and Nepht at his side as they all worked over small gardens during colder seasons and grander fields during the harvests. Cibor was one of the quickest people when he started blossoming into himself, easily running picked items from the fields to the wagons to be shipped off. Adrista and her family kept the lights on as the sun went down and there was barely any moon to follow it. Bryn was warmth during the breaks, but they and their family could not be anywhere near the crops.

They did have a great bonfire during the celebrations though.

He doesn’t even realize that he’s still singing until he feels someone pull on his jacket. He turns his head to see Bernadetta anxiously looking down at the ground. “Uh, sorry, your plot-”

His plot is glowing. It’s too much magic.  _ Shit. _

“Thank you.” He simply says, turning back to start trying to siphon out the excess. The seeds he planned on using today would not be able to handle the amount he was using. 

He’s just barely started the task when Bernadetta talks again. “Sorry for bothering you again, but um-” She stops, and Dedue looks at her again. She looks like she’s about to pass out, sweating up a storm.

“Yes?”

She shrieks, and dashes off into the distance. Dedue can see her pass by Dorothea, and Dorothea looks over at him and shrugs.

Dedue feels conflicted, but he turns back to remove the rest of the excess magic.

* * *

There’s a term in Duscis that translates roughly to, “It went from worse to worser.”

That’s how Dedue feels going up Gautier tower. He’s been sticking to the closer walls of the tower as the Blue Lions started their mission, making sure that the archer at the top was specifically targeting him so that he could constantly deflect their arrows with the stone of the floor. 

There’s the buzz of magic and the clang of metal as both his classmates and Miklan’s bandits fight. He hears Felix warn everyone about ambushes and reinforcements before the sounds of fighting start getting louder behind him. Dedue turns around and sees the four swordsmen currently facing off against Felix and Annette.

He starts running, watching as Felix’s sword slices across the chest of one, and Annette’s magic throws another one into the wall, knocking him out. Dedue manages to get between Annette and another swordsman just in time to pick the man up and throw him off to the side.

He feels a sharp pain in his side, and looks down to see the blade of the last bandit currently in his side. He looks up to see a smirk on the bandit’s face just before Annette blows the man back. Felix nods at him as he runs forward to get back into the fray. He shares a smile with Annette as she tries her best to heal him. After the wound closes up, although the soreness of the pain is still there, he notices he smile fall off her face as she looks past him and at Gilbert.

Dedue quietly took a step in between the two of them and kept the soft smile on his face. “If I deal with the mages, can you handle the bandits?”

Annette looked at him before a grin creeped across her face. “I can do you one better.” She says, pointing at the armored knight in the corner. “How do you feel about armor busting?”

Dedue gets the message, putting aside his gauntlets and pulling out his mace. “I feel wonderful about the idea.”

The fight against the armored knight is almost unfair. For the knight, that is. Annette even finds a lovely ring on the ground after they beat him.

It’s the adrenaline that they get off of that that guides them up to the top of the tower just in time to watch Miklan turn into a beast.

* * *

Sylvain just stands there after Miklan is defeated.

Dimitri stands next to him, hand on his shoulder. Felix and Ingrid are standing off to the side. Byleth is busy talking to Gilbert about the mission and what to tell the church later. Mihail, Mercedes, and Annette are looking over injured soldiers in different battalions and working to heal them. Ashe stands by Dedue’s side, also watching the scene. “Hey, Dedue,” Ashe starts, “do you ever think about Crests and nobility?”

“Every now and then.” Dedue answers, looking at the archer out of the corner of his eye. “Why do you ask?”

“It’s nothing, really.” Ashe says. “I just find myself wondering why Lonato had to die. And why Gautier had to force Miklan away from being the heir. It would’ve been easier for everyone if people just chose to talk and listen.” 

Dedue thinks about his words. Lonato had qualms against the church, but there must have been a history of ignored questions and comments that lead to the fight in the forest. Miklan had been raised since birth to inherit the deed of Gautier, and it was just situations outside of his control that forced it away and demonized him. 

Mihail’s family was also attacked during the Tragedy, but the Kingdom had responded with a Murder anyway.

Ashe’s words held some weight. Dedue wasn’t sure how they would fit with Faerghus’ ideals.

* * *

It’s not really a shock that night when Mihail is at his door, ready to sleep over. It is a shock that he’s followed by Ashe and Sylvain. There’s very little words exchanged as everyone takes the blankets brought with them and sets up small cots on the ground. Dedue makes sure that everyone is comfortable before everyone goes to sleep.

For Dedue’s 19th birthday, he has a sleepover again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Crests and Their Costs.
> 
> Crests and How The Church Loves To Enforce Them.
> 
> SELF LOVE! DOWN WITH FODLAN BEAUTY STANDARDS! Also come on, Dedue with longer hair? Yes.
> 
> Raphael and Dedue's subtle friendship. I just like the idea that they calmly agree to feed their friends well.
> 
> Dedue as an adjutant.
> 
> Hearing about the Mission in Gautier Tower, which really was a choice. Like, you got Ashe at the place where his adoptive father is killed, Sylvain is battling his abusive brother- A mess I tell you. It's all simply a mess.
> 
> Introducing Gilbert into the narrative, as much as I don't want to.
> 
> Arcane_Artisan. I came through specifically for you. Thank you for giving me the insight to think about Bernie and Dedue interactions.
> 
> The actual Gautier mission, which is still Something. Ashe is slowly becoming more and more of a baby socialist.
> 
> Dedue's birthday is 8/31, which is the end of this month. With everything going on, I think he's entitled to a birthday sleepover.


	12. White Clouds: Sum Solus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sum solus: I am alone/without other/by myself

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey! how we feeling?

Dedue spends his morning as he usually does. He gets up, prays, gets ready for the day, and dresses himself. It’s as he’s putting on his boots that he realizes the lack of black and green hair.

Sylvain yawns, getting up from his cot. “Morning.”

“Good morning.” Dedue says, looking around the room just to make sure that Mihail isn’t in the room. “Have you seen Mihail?”

“Uh,” Sylvain still looks half-asleep. “No? Should I?”

Dedue shook his head. “I was just wondering if he got up earlier. If you don’t mind me asking, how are you feeling?”

“Like shit.” Sylvain says, grinning. “So it’s business as usual.”

“You shouldn’t say that.” Ashe notes, sitting up. “That’s not a good thing.”

Sylvain stands up. “I’ll be fine. When did you wake up?”

“I’ve been up for a bit.” Ashe admitted. He turned to face Dedue. “Mihail was already gone when I woke up, by the way.”

“Thanks.” Dedue nods. “If you two want to get dressed, we can all get breakfast together.”

Sylvain runs his fingers through his hair. “I’ll take you up on that offer.”

“Let me go get ready.” Ashe says, getting up and heading towards the door with his blankets. “I’ll meet up with you guys in 5 minutes?”

“Five?” Sylvain groans. “Ashe, buddy. I need at least 10 to look presentable for the ladies.”

Dedue rolls his eyes and Ashe sighs at how quickly the redhead seems to fall back into his usual behavior.

* * *

“Hey,” Ignatz says from a few seats over, “is it just me, or is Seteth really antsy?”

Dedue looks across the dining hall and watches as Seteth walks around with very pointed steps.

Leonie hums. “He’s really on edge. I wonder why?”

“I bet it has something to do with the Death Knight.” Linhardt says with a yawn, cutting into the conversation. “He has been in charge over the investigation.”

Hubert raised an eyebrow. “Linhardt. How do you know about that?” 

“I just do.” They said, putting their head down. “It’s better if you don’t ask questions.”

Edelgard sighed.

“My apologies,” Dedue started, deciding to speak up. “But what is this about the ‘Death Knight’?”

Dorothea gasped. “No one told you about it, Duei?”

“Duei-”

Dorothea’s eyes snapped to Ferdinand. “Shut it, bee.” Ferdinand became very quiet, and when Dorothea was facing Dedue, her eyes were much softer. “Well,” She starts, “I’m not sure how much of the story I have, but from what I do have, apparently every night people have been terrorised by a man in black armor and a skull mask.”

“Yeah,” Raphael says around a bite of lamb, “It started sometime in the middle of the last moon.”

“Wow, that’s-” Ashe gulped. “Terrifying.”

Felix scoffed. “The Dark Knight’s nothing but a coward. If he actually wanted a fight, he would show up during the day.”

“I think that the whole points of the matter is that he doesn’t want a fair battle.” Petra stated. “He is acting more like an assassin than a- an honorable warrior.”

Claude whistled slowly. “Wow. I can’t believe we have an assassin in Garreg Mach.”

“Claude,” Edelgard said, staring down her fellow heir, “You can’t believe that’s what Petra truly meant-”

“It is.” Petra says with a nod. Dorothea smiles, Claude smirks, and Edelgard’s cheeks gain a tint of red.

“Either way, breakfast is nearly over.” Dimitri says, calmly cutting through the tension. Dedue watches as the glow of magic in both Hubert and Lysithea’s hands slowly fade away. “Has everyone gotten something to eat?”

“All the Golden Deer ate!” Hilda chirped. Lorenz looked up and down the table to double check before nodding.

“The Black Eagles always make sure that we at least eat breakfast together.” Edelgard said proudly.

Sylvain raised an eyebrow. “Then where’s Bernie?” 

Dorothea gave him a curious glance. “I gave her a plate of her favorite breakfast before coming back. She wasn’t really feeling well.”

Dedue looked down the table, plagued with the idea that something was wrong.

Felix stands up. “And our house was the first one here, so of course we all ate. Can we go to class now so we can spar?”

“Wait, not everyone ate.” Mercedes said, looking concerned. “Did anyone save food for Mihail?”

“Uh, why do we need to save food for Mihail?” Ashe asked, already putting his leftover onto one of the bigger napkins to tie together. “He ate before us, right? When he woke up?”

Annette looked confused. “Uh, Mercie and I have been here since the dining hall opened.”

Lorenz nodded. “I was here too. Mihail never showed up.”

“Maybe he is still in his room?” Ferdinand asked. “Although it is weird that he did not even come down to try to eat.”

Dimitri hummed. “Dedue, can you go check on Mihail for me? Feel free to take your time.”

Dedue simply got up from the table, hoping that he didn’t give away how nervous he was. “I will be back as fast as I can.”

Ashe stood up too. “I can come with you-”

“Ashe,” Ingrid said lightly, “It’s probably better if you spend more time training. Besides, just give Dedoo the food you just packed.”

There’s a brief pause in the room before Ashe hands Dedue the parcel of food. Dedue notices a look of anger in Dorothea’s eyes, confusion in the eyes of the students in other houses, and exasperation in Dimitri’s and Sylvain’s.

Dedue nods at Ashe and thanks him for the food before he leaves. As he takes a step out the door, he hears Dorothea as she starts speaking. “Ingrid, we’ve talked about this-”

He moves twice as fast, not wanting to be anywhere near the vicinity of an enraged Dorothea.

* * *

Mihail’s door is locked, so Dedue knocks and the door.

There’s no answer, so he knocks even louder.

There’s still no answer, so he says, “Mihail, it’s Dedue. Wake up,” thinking that his friend just fell asleep.

When there’s still no answer, Dedue starts to become a bit concerned, checking the door again and seeing that it’s locked. Now, he pulls a stone away from the wall, focuses on in, and drops it into the ground. 

When he hears it land in Mihail’s room, he smiles.

When there is no gust of wind from Mihail, his smile slowly starts to vanish.

Dedue looks around before he places the small parcel down and moves to one of the bricks in the wall. It takes some time, but soon he’s able to work it out from the wall, giving him a window to see the entire room.

The room looks untouched. Mihail was never in his room since he showed up to Dedue’s last night.

Just in case, Dedue checks again before he replaces the stone. He picks up the parcel and decides to go around the entire monastery, just to see if Mihail lost track of time.

He’s not in the greenhouse.

He’s not at the fishing pond.

He’s not in the dining room.

He’s not at the marketplace.

He’s not at the stables.

He’s not in the knights hall.

He’s not at the entrance hall.

He’s not at the cathedral.

He’s nowhere on the second floor.

He’s not at the training grounds.

He’s not in the sauna.

Dedue’s heart sinks as he makes his way to the Blue Lions classroom. As he opens the door, he looks around the room while everyone turns to face him, confusion on their faces.

Because Mihail’s not in the room either.

* * *

It’s lunchtime now. And Dedue is practically being held down at the lunch bench so he can at least eat before he gets up and spends the rest of the day turning the monastery upside down.

“Hey,” Sylvain said, looking sympathetic. “Mihail probably just fell asleep somewhere weird. That last fight took a lot out of us.”

“But it’s not like him.” Dedue says as Dimitri takes a plate and puts it in front of him. “He does tend to act on his thoughts before he thinks about them, but he lets me know. He didn’t even get the rock-” His eyes widened. “The rock.”

Everyone at the table looks confused. “What.” Felix says.

He’s such an idiot. “I thought Mihail was in his room, so I engraved a message on a rock and sent it in his room, and he didn’t respond because he wasn’t there. I never sent one to _him_.” He hopes that his very rushed explanation gets his point across, because he is already waving a hand and causing a stone to leap up out of the ground.

Dimitri catches it. “Eat first.”

“Dimitri-”

“Dedue, you need to eat-”

“Dimitri.” Dedue says, and at this moment, he doesn’t care about how he looks. “Hand over the stone.”

Dimitri’s eyes narrow, and there’s something dangerous in those blue eyes. “No. Now, as your house leader-”

_Nothus. (Bastard)_

“I order you to take a break. At least long enough to eat.”

Dedue knows that everyone at the table, everyone in the dining hall, is currently staring at them. Ingrid and Felix look like they’re ready to defend Dimitri at the slightest movement. Annette annd Mercedes look conflicted. Sylvain looks like he’s already zoned out, as if he’s forced himself to ignore what is happening in front of him. Ashe’s fingers twitch.

Dedue sighs. “Of course, Your Highness.”

The food tastes like sand and the water tastes like mud.

* * *

Immediately after he finishes eating, Dimitri places the stone in his hand, and for a split second Dedue has the very, very therapeutic idea of throwing it at the prince. But he has to try and contact Mihail, so he doesn’t.

Instead he closes his eyes and focuses on the stone, trying to come up with a message that could get everything he wanted to say on the surface. After a few seconds, he drops the stone, and keeps his focus on Mihail as the stone travels through the earth. It takes a long while, but soon the stone spits itself out into an open cavern.

Mihail does not touch the stone. All Dedue knows is that he’s underground. 

Now he is definitely worried.

* * *

He chooses to spend some time to quickly check his plants. There are a large number of bulbs already poking out of the ground thanks to his magic, and Dedue can’t help but smile at his handiwork. 

There’s one green bulb with a splash of black against it. The colors, along with the relative height of the bulb, are a reminder of Mihail.

It sparks an idea in Dedue’s head, and he starts to get to work, picking up a tool in one hand and letting his other hand start to hum in magic.

He’s practically done when Ashe comes and gets him for the announcement.

* * *

Seteth looks like a mess. Dedue can relate.

It’s a few days after the monastery was told about the disappearance of Flayn and Mihail. Seteth seems to take on more and more work in order to keep himself busy. Dedue just falls into an unspoken position next to Dimitri’s side.

It makes sense, Dimitri currently has the entire house searching for information. Besides, when Dedue went to go help, he overheard many whispers from different monks that he himself probably kidnapped Flayn. He has to hold his tongue long enough for him to stick his head in a well, make sure no sound can get out, and scream.

But now, he’s just content to just play the role of the vassal. It’s quiet. It allows him to think.

It’s not the healthiest place of mind to be.

He knocks on Seteth’s door, and the man’s head shoots up. “Who is it- Oh.”

Dedue nods. “Greetings.”

“Greetings.” Seteth says, rubbing his forehead. “How may I help you?”

“I was just wondering if-” Dedue cuts himself off, really looking at Seteth. The bags under his eyes were dark and heavy, his hair somewhat unkempt and not at all like Seteth, and the buttons on his shirt (jacket?) did not line up evenly. “Do you want some tea?”

Seteth scowled. “As you can see, I am quite busy right now-”

“You need to stop yourself from burning out.” Dedue interrupts him, already seeing the signs of burnout. “I’ve heard that we figured out who may be affiliated with the Death Knight. Think of this as a celebration.”

The green-haired man was quiet for a while. “I suppose,” he said, standing up from his seat, “that I could take a quick rest right now. Would you mind waiting for me in the hallway?”

“I would not.”

* * *

As soon as the taste of ginger hits his tongue, Dedue feels himself relax.

Seteth also seems to enjoy it. “Hm. Lovely tea. One of my favorites.”

“Thank you for the compliment.” Dedue says, putting his mug down. “I’m glad you enjoy it.”

“It has a lovely little kick to it.” Seteth says, a small smile on his face. “This is a lovely little break.”

The two simply sat there, sipping tea and eating snacks. It’s a comfortable silence, and Dedue is content to just spend the time like this.

Seteth cleared his throat. “Do you mind if I ask a question?”

Dedue looks at him, trying to see what his intentions were. “Am I allowed to refuse the Archbishop’s Hand?”

“You are.” Seteth nodded. “I would be appalled at myself if I ever used the power of the Church in such a manner. You should be allowed to at least be listened to if you are ever uncomfortable about an issue.” His eyes narrowed. “Do you feel silenced by people at the monastery?”

Not necessarily. So, of course Dedue says, “No. But if it is a concern to you, I will let you know if that does happen.”

“Thank you.” Seteth says, shaking his head. “I worry so much over my own d- sister. At times it feels like I am adopting a few of the students as well.”

“I understand the feeling. At times it feels like I have a sibling again.” The words leave Dedue’s lips before he can stop them, and Seteth stills.

The man takes another sip of his tea before he speaks. “I would like to apologize for the Church’s lack of action when it comes to Mihail. And for our inability to properly vet our instructors, apparently.”

Dedue nods his head, remembering Annette talking about how Jeritza has suddenly disappeared. “I accept. But how are you feeling? You and Flayn are close.”

Seteth sighs, and some part of Dedue’s brain tells him that his sigh is a lot older than it would be if he was simply an older brother. “Flayn is rather dear to me.” Seteth says simply, and Dedue understands. “We actually ran to the monastery to avoid people who were after us for our Crests.”

Dedue hums in acknowledgement as he takes a sip of his tea.

“Flayn’s in particular is very rare. There have been _incidents_ -” Seteth’s face morphs into an unreadable expression. “In which people have tried to harm her. So now I believe I am just constantly weary.”

“That sounds right for what you two have gone through.” Dedue says, wondering about how Seteth was like before he came to the monastery. Did Mihail now him? Was he ever in Abyss?

“But what we’ve gone through is nothing to what you and Mihail went through.” Seteth says, his mood concerned again. “I wish not to bring up any bad memories, but if either of you needed anything…”

“Thank you.” Dedue doesn’t really know what to think about the green-haired man, but he appreciates the current sentiment. “We’ll find them well.”

Seteth nods. “I hope we do.”

* * *

That night, as Dedue makes his way down to Abyss, he feels footsteps following him from a far distance. He put a hand on the wall and tried to see how many people were also on their way to Abyss. He’s not surprised at the count of seven, especially with Byleth’s casual stride, Dimitri’s near perfect walk, and Ashe’s quick steps in the middle of the random rhythm.

He makes sure to sneak into the Duscis room before the group is close enough to spot him. _“Salvete.”_

_“Salvete.”_ Rius says without looking up, currently reading a book. “The others are currently somewhere in Abyss right now if you two want to talk to everyone.”

Dedue sighs. “Rius.” His voice sounds tired, and Rius looks up to see that their earlier greeting was wrong. “We need to get the others. Mihail is in trouble.”

* * *

“What do you mean, ‘he’s missing’?”

“Cibor, take a breath.” Adrista says, as if she isn’t also furious.

Cibor paced around the room as he spoke. “This is my cousin we’re talking about, Dris. We don’t even know where he is right now.”

“No, we know he’s underground.” Towen says, taking notes on scrap paper. “That’s a start.”

“Right.” Cibor turns to the door, small sparks of lightning jumping in his hair. “I can probably run around Abyss-”

A small fire forms in front of the door. “Cibor,” Bryn says, focusing on the flame, “I love you, but that’s a dumb idea.”

“What they mean-” Rius quickly cuts in, “is that Mihail is probably under watch. Even if you find him, you’d be in trouble too.”

Cibor held out an arm. “Pillow.”

Baila handed him a pillow.

He held it up into his face and screamed into it. Dedue pats his shoulder. Bryn extinguishes the fire in front of the door.

Adrista sighs. “Now, what should we do?”

There was a knock on the door before it opened, showing Yuri on the other side of the door. “People are trying to break into Abyss again. Deal with the stragglers.”

Towen nods. “Got it. How soon do you want us out there?”

“Right now.” Yuri simply walks away, the door still open. Everyone in the room shares many different looks with each other before they all start moving, grabbing tools and weapons.

“Excuse me,” a familiar voice says, and Dedue becomes deathly still. “Have any of you seen where Yuri is? He hasn’t return-'' Ashe goes silent, and Dedue can feel the teen’s eyes on him.

Adrista sighs as she puts her lance to the side. “Quick, come inside. Someone get the door.”

Ashe slowly walks in, closing the door behind him. Dedue turns to face him with an embarrassed smile on his face. Ashe looks confused. “Dedue?”

“It’s for the best that we talk about this later.” Dedue says, seeing all the questions on Ashe’s face. “Please don’t let anyone know.” 

“Sure.” Ashe says without missing a beat. It seems to shock everyone in the room, including himself, but he nods his head anyway. “I won’t tell anyone else.” He takes a few moments to look around the room and smiles. “I should probably go see if Yuri is somewhere else now.”

Dedue nods. “Right. See you in the morning?”

“We can have breakfast in my room.” Ashe opens the door and starts backing out of it, waving. “Goodnight.”

Everyone waves back. Ashe leaves. The door closes.

Baila smiles. “I like him.”

“You like everyone who shirks authority in front of you.” Towen complained, grabbing a bow. “Remember-”

“Say a name and I will backhand you.”

* * *

Dedue fights with Cibor by his side, calmly tossing their opponent off balance so that the shorter man can simply put away a dagger and shock the man at his temple. He falls down like a sack of flour.

Dedue nods at Cibor. “Impressive.”

Cibor grins as he shakes out his hand. “Pretty shocking, I know.”

Thankfully, Dedue is too busy dealing with a second bandit to groan at Cibor’s joke. He dodges the head of the axe before he lands a smooth uppercut to rattle his foe. Cibor sneaks up behind the man and tags him with a powerful lightning spell that lights up the dark space of Abyss.

“Hey!” Adrista shouts, grunting as she’s engaged in combat. “No sudden lights without warning us!”

_“Accepi!”_ Cibor shouts back, nodding at Dedue as he starts making his way to Bryn and Rius. _“Este sanum!” (Got it! Look alive!)_

Dedue closed his eyes as he heard the buzz of static and the shouts of bandits. When he opens them, there’s a group of them around Cibor who look nearly fried, swaying on their feet.

Towen sighs as they run up next to Dedue. _“Macero ei.” (I worry for him.)_

Dedue just chuckles as they start cleaning up the rest of the stragglers.

* * *

In all honesty, his second meeting with Bernadetta is much better than his first meeting.

He’s watering his plants in the greenhouse, keeping a close eye on the plant that represents Mihail. It looks weak, but it’s roots and stem are still strong, and that lifts a heavy weight off of Dedue’s heart. He nearly jumps when he feels a tug at his jacket.

Bernadetta is instantly apologetic. “Oh my gosh I am so sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you I just wanted to ask if you could bless my tomato plant since the greenhouse lady isn’t here oh good job Bernie you’ve messed it up again I can’t believe-”

Dedue feels his eyebrows go higher and higher as the girl doesn’t even seem to breathe when she tears into herself. He simply turns and hums a quick prayer to Tellus, keeping a close eye on how much magic he’s actually putting in the soil this time. When he’s done, he turns around to see that Bernadetta looks like she’s run herself out, her tirade starting to wind down as she takes more and more breaths. She blinks, and by the look of shock on her face, she’s surprised that Dedue just didn’t leave her.

Dedue calmly points to her plot of the greenhouse. Bernadetta’s eyes widen as she sees the light glow of magic. “Uh, thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” He turns around and starts walking when there’s another tug on his jacket. He looks down at Bernadetta, who looks nervously back up at him.

“What do you want?” She asks shakily.

“Excuse me?”

“What do you want? Money, supplies, marriage is probably off the table for you-”

“I want nothing.” Dedue says, choosing to ignore the last thing she said. That was a conversation for later, hopefully. “Why are you asking me this?”

Bernadetta looks down, muttering her next words. “There’s always an exchange of stuff, right? I pat your back, you pat mine?”

“I don’t think there needs to be any patting.” Dedue says, somewhat sarcastically and somewhat concerned. “I am simply helping out a fellow classmate, that’s all.”

Bernadetta hummed to herself. “Right. Thank you.” Then she speeds right past him and back into her room. Edelgard looks at the slammed door before she gives Dedue a questioning glance. He shrugs and she seems to sigh before she takes a seat by the door.

* * *

The day before Jeritza kidnaps Manuela, the Blue Lions find their lesson interrupted by a very determined Lysithea and a very tired Claude.

“I want in.” Lysithea demands.

Felix scoffs. “We don’t accept wayward children.”

“I’ll show you who a child is-”

“Teach!” Claude shouts, standing in front of Lysithea before she can start tearing into the Fraldarius. “Sorry to just burst in here, but Lysithea heard your mission was to try and rescue Flayn and Mihail from the Death Knight and she practically fought everyone to get here.”

“That’s not very ladylike.” Ingrid mutters.

Sylvain snorts. “Since when did you care about acting like a lady?” he asks. Ingrid hits him.

Byleth sighs as they look into a journal. After a few moments they look back up and nod. “Lysithea, feel free to stay and join us.”

“Professor, are you sure?” Dimitri asks, looking concerned. “I would hate for Lysithea to get hurt-”

Claude laughed. “No one’s gonna hurt Lysithea. Trust me.”

* * *

Dedue’s eyes widen as Lysithea’s magic practically eats through one of the mysterious soldiers in the cavern. Her magic has always been vicious, scaring him with it’s might, but even to him it seems like she’s wielding her magic in revenge and malice, felling foes unlucky enough to be in her sights.

He doesn’t understand why until the Death Knight is teleported away and he spots Mihail chained to the wall. He’s at Mihail’s side in an instant. _“Mihail, dice.” (Mihail, say something.)_

A small groan leaves the Vessyl’s lips as his eyes flutter open. Dedue starts whispering thanks to Ventus, to the Rising Flame, to Terra and Tellus, to any Duscis deity that he can recall as he takes stock of the situation. Mihail is awake, his eyes tracking. He’s still dressed in his sleeping clothes, although they’re filthy now after being down here for weeks. There’s an especially dark spot on his side, and with revulsion Dedue realizes that it’s blood from a wound that has already been healed. He spends a bit more time noting all the small scrapes and scars until Ashe can come over and pick the locks to release him.

It’s when Ashe gasps does Dedue realize the biggest difference in Mihail. His hair is stark white, without a trace of either black or green. It looks a lot like Lysithea and Edelgard’s hair, taken out of it’s braids and clumped together with dark patches of blood.

As Ashe does his work, Dedue looks over at Lysithea, who’s looking at the scene with a very specific expression on her face.

It’s the same expression Dedue had years earlier as he stared at the burning remains of his town. As a survivor of the Murder of Duscur. As a survivor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like writing interactions between Ashe, Dedue, and Sylvain. idk why i just think they're neat together.
> 
> Ignatz and Raphael may be getting tags just because of how good they're filling their roles as background characters in this fic. Bravo, 10/10, all the roses for those two.
> 
> Also, non-binary Linhardt. They have that bastard energy and I really just have idea how else to describe it. Dorothea and Ferdinand's early relationship, mix and match a few other characters, and bam. Good scene.
> 
> Also, I refuse to believe that Petra is that bad at speaking. She may have some issue with noun-verb agreement and more finnicky rules in english (a and an when it comes to the sound of h), but like, I refuse to believe she would say childnapping. I do not see it.
> 
> And POC sticking up for each other yep we love to see it!
> 
> I've been realizing throughout this fic that Ashe has slowly been turning into a mutual aid/baby socialist king and this really is like, the first small outcroppings of it.
> 
> ...Am I sorry for this? No. This is my AU and the stores are open for me 24/7.
> 
> Note the difference in how Seteth and Dimitri use their power. Just, pointing that out. (ft. Crests and their issues pt. 345342)
> 
> Duscis squad fighting! Somewhat. I like fleshing out characters, but to do that with 6 at the same time is not ideal.
> 
> Ashe Knows.
> 
> Bernadetta and Dedue. Maybe this is the B support?? They'll have another scene after this, I just love this dynamic of "maybe we'll talk, but when we do it will be brief and quick so get your words in order as best as you can."
> 
> Lysithea and Khalid. We love them and their dynamic. A near perfect older brother little sister duo, second only to Lorenz and Lysithea. (ft. side chatter and Blue Lions talking)
> 
> They did the mission!! *runs in the opposite direction*


	13. White Clouds: Certamina Domuum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> certamina domuum: a contest of the houses, a fight of the the families
> 
> cw: Felix says some vicious things. suicide baiting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is 9.7k words. i have no idea what happened.
> 
> also, i have one last scene to write out for the next chapter and then we go into either the last or second to last chapter of white clouds!!! school is starting up again, so i may go on hiatus after the next time i post (which will be on the 8th of August).
> 
> stay safe, have fun, remember to think critically about media, and please try your best to safely call out harmful beliefs and practices.
> 
> also, drink water.

Dedue tried to spend as much time as he can in the infirmary while Mihail is recovering. It’s only a two-day holdover, really just to make sure that there’s nothing left in Mihail’s system.

But Dedue knows his friend. And therefore he isn’t surprised when he was to put up a stone wall to stop Mihail from trying to leave his bed.

_“Est vis!”_ Mihail hissed from behind the wall. Dedue heard Manuela chuckle at them from her own bed. _(This is violence!)_

_“Non est.”_ Deude responds, opening up a little window to look at Mihail. There’s a rebellious look on his face. _“Nisi sim hic, exeas.” (No it isn’t. If I were not here, you would have fled.)_

Mihail flopped back onto his bed, not moving as Dedue brought the wall back down. “I’m bored,” he whined. “Is there anything to do here?”

“I have a deck of cards in the desk.” Manuela said, sitting up. “If I was allowed to get out of bed-”

Hanneman stared her down. “Don’t even think about it, Manuela.”

Mihail leaned forward, and Dedue leaned in to hear him whisper. _“Certamen numerus-” (Contest number?)_

_“Viginti et quattor.”_ Dedue finished calmly. _“Ea superior eo est.” (Twenty-four. She is <more victorious> than him.) _

Mihail snorted. “You hate to see it.”

* * *

In the end, Hanneman gets the cards, and Flayn and Monica join as Mihail is explaining how to play _Imperium_. It takes a while, but soon the cards are being dealt out, and Dedue has to fight the smile on his face as he looks at his hand.

A few plays go by, and Dedue thinks he’s about to go out before Flayn puts down her last four cards and calls for a revolution. He’s lucky to get third as everyone else starts easily beating his cards, Monica going out just before him. To his amusement, Mihail comes last.

“So,” Flayn starts, looking at her hand, “you said something happens next round when I win?”

Dedue nods. “You give two cards of your choice to Mihail, and Mihail has to give you his two best cards.”

Manuela laughs. “That’s rich! I love this game.”

“You have to give Monica your best card.” Mihail tells her. Hanneman covers Flayn’s ears just before she starts cursing out the entire room.

“ _Imperium_ is really a thought experiment.” Dedue tries to explain after she’s finished. Mihail starts the new round with one of the lower cards. “The way it’s taught to Duscis shows that taking things by force isn’t necessarily the best way to keep a group of people together.”

Hanneman immediately brings it up to some of the higher cards and Manuela groans as she passes her turn.

Mihail shrugged. “I think we forgot about the imbalance of power.”

“That too. It’s a lovely parable.”

Monica grins as everyone at the table passes. “Yeah, but it’s an even better game.”

* * *

Lysithea and Edelgard walk into the infirmary sometime in the middle of the second day. The sight of the girls remind Dedue of how strong Lysithea’s magic is. The lack of Hubert following Edelgard carries a different air into the room.

Monica and Manuela are out the door before Hanneman can even tell them no. Hanneman himself glances at the two girls before simply nodding his head and walking out too. Flayn had left earlier that morning, grumbling about leaving her “new friends” as Seteth pulled her away. Mihail looks up and shares a look with the other two white-haired people in the room. Dedue wonders what the three are thinking before he blinks and notices that all of them are looking at him.

_“De,”_ Mihail starts, rubbing his neck. A signal to trust him. _“Exi et mane?” (De, step out and stay <for a while>?) _

Dedue simply nods and makes his way out of the room, closing the door behind him and leaning against the wall. He hears Hanneman and Manuela arguing in Hanneman’s office, and shares a look with Monica as she sneaks out of the room again, skipping down the hallway to the rest of the monastery. He shakes his head at the girl’s antics and waits.

Part of him wants to tap into the stone and listen in on the conversation, but he respects the privacy of everyone in the room enough to just be content to hear their muffled voices and hints of whispers. As far as he can tell, their conversation is nearly over by the time Claude steps into the hallway and looks at him funny. “Is Mihail okay?”

“He’s fine.” Dedue says, patting the wall next to him. Claude leans on it, keeping the bag that he’s carrying on the other side of him. “He’s busy making secrets I can’t hear about right now.”

Claude chuckles. “You sound confident that you’ll hear them later, though.”

“Overconfidence is a problem I have.”

“Really? Don’t believe it.” Claude says casually. “Although, I guess I haven’t talked to you well enough to judge that.”

Dedue is glad for that. Mihail may be able to deal with the future Duke, but Dedue knows that he is not well-equipped to deal with piercing eyes and quick tongues. “Oh well.” He says. “You get revenge on me for ignoring you when you steal Mihail for the evening.”

“Aw, don’t think of it as revenge.” Claude says, smirking. “I need to have a good rapport with a potential brother in law.”

It feels like there was a landslide underneath him for a moment. “Excuse me?”

“It’s nothing. How long do you think that meeting’s gonna take?”

Dedue shakes his head. Claude was definitely not his type of person. Mihail could have him. “Let me send a message.” 

A loose stone fell out of the ceiling and into Dedue’s hand. He focused on the message for a few moments before he placed it into the wall behind him. He heard it clack against the stone floor as it passed through the wall.

Claude hummed, mostly to himself. “That’s a sweet trick. Did you already prepare the wall?”

“What?”

Claude’s eyes widened. “Nothing. I don’t know how magic works at all, honestly.” He says, and Dedue’s curiosity in the man grows. “You won’t be upset if I take a bit more time away from you, right? Secret that you’ll probably hear later.”

Dedue nodded. This was weird even for the eccentric younger man. He was just about to speak when the door opened, and Edelgard stepped out. The heiress nodded at the two in the hallway as she started walking away. Lysithea barely got both feet out of the door before Claude pulled her into a hug. Dedue calmly looked down the hallway and gave the two their own private moment until he heard the clicking of Lysithea’s shoes as she started walking. Dedue watches Claude close the door behind him as Manuela dashes out of Hanneman’s office.

He only really hears a whoosh of something, Mihail’s voice getting louder, and frantic hushes during the second private conversation. As Claude and Mihail both walk out, Dedue notices that Claude’s hair is more messy than usual and his bag is now resting on the other shoulder.

Hanneman simply sighs and lets Mihail leave early. “You at least didn’t try to sneak away.”

* * *

Mihail can’t step foot into the dining room. Dedue sees him freeze for a second as they step into the reception hall. So he’s quick to guide the two to his own room, closing the door behind them.

Mihail lets out a breath. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” Dedue simply says. “Should I go get some food? Are you hungry?”

“I’m fine.” Mihail says, although the twiddling of his thumbs tells a different story. “I just want to put my hair back to normal and sleep like the dead.”

Dedue raises an eyebrow. “How are you supposed to do that?”

“Claude gave me a few bottles of dye he made.” Mihail pulls out the jars, and Dedue is impressed with how accurate the colors are. “Mind helping me?”

The two spend the hour dying and styling Mihail’s hair. Over mugs of ginger tea and a late dessert run to the dining hall pass the time as they wait for the dye to work, and when they rinse it out in the basin, Dedue braids the green streak down like Mihail had it before.

During this time, Dedue learns that the same people who stole Mihail away from the king’s assassination years earlier had come back to make sure that the Crest they had placed in him was still working. Mihail’s voice is oddly monotone during all of this, and as soon as Dedue finishes tying the ribbon at the end of the braid, he calmly pulls the younger child into a hug from behind. It takes a few more moments before they split apart and continue working on their appearances.

“So,” Dedue starts as Mihail takes a pair of scissors and starts to trim Dedue’s hair, “what does this mean for you?”

Mihail is quiet. The only sounds are the sounds of them breathing and the snips of the scissors as they straighten the ends of Dedue’s hair. “Well,” he says after some time, putting the scissors down, “apparently, before they got to me, the process wasn’t complete yet. I could use the Crest, but with some time, it would fade. Now it’s permanent. It and all of the horrible side effects.”

There’s an even longer silence before Mihail looks at his own reflection in the glass. Dedue deeply appreciates how well the dye worked, especially as he holds a shaking and crying Mihail as they go to sleep.

* * *

“I hear if Mihail knows your secrets, he’s somehow able to put them all on the wind so that everyone knows about it.”

“For the Goddess’ sake, isn’t anyone going to tell him that his creepy earth powers aren’t allowed? Or are we all just afraid he’ll attack us with them?”

“That princess from Brigid is weird. I think she's lost her mind, talking to bushes and what not. It’s always a sad sight to see.”

“Shamir is too calm. I hear that she has some sort of monstrous ritual she does every time she fires her bow that takes a little bit of humanity out of her.”

“I swear I saw Cyril change a broom into a mop! I tell you, the boy practices witchcraft and it’s a shame that he doesn’t truly follow the teachings of the Goddess.”

* * *

Lorenz palms a piece of paper into Dedue’s hand when he shakes it that morning. When Dedue looks at the interaction between Lorenz and Hubert, he thinks he can spot the small moment where Hubert receives the note.

He looks away and reads the note. It’s a lunch invitation for two. More specifically, it’s for him and Mihail.

He quietly taps Mihail’s arm and passes the note along. Mihail glances at gim and nods, an eyebrow raised in question.

Dedue shrugs.

* * *

During their morning combat practice, there’s a break where Byleth has to talk to a few knights. Dedue watches as Mihail starts floating an arrow around him, excitedly chatting with Ashe and Annette. He taps his foot against the stone and sends two pebbles up into the small cyclone Mihail’s controlling.

Mihail curses at him as he catches the pebbles. It takes some obvious effort, but with cheering from Annette, he ends up separating the pebbles and the arrow into two smaller gusts. “Hey Annette, do you still remember how to hold your spells?”

Annette casts her wind spell and holds it. “Yeah.” 

“Great. Catch!” Mihail tosses the stones in his left hand. Annette quickly dashes forward to catch them in her own gust of wind. Unfortunately, neither of them were paying attention to the lance in front of the girl.

Luckily, Dedue is, and with a stomp, the lance sinks into the floor just before Annette catches the stones and celebrates. Dedue lets out a sigh of relief that no one got hurt as the lance pops up next to him, softly spat out of the ground. He caught it and turned to put it away.

He froze as Ingrid tapped his chest with her finger angrily. “Are you really trying to steal the monastery’s property?” She asked.

_“Esne stolida?”_ He grumbles before shaking his head. “No. I am simply going to put the training lance where it goes when no one is using it.” _(Are you dumb?)_

“I was using it.” Ingrid claims, holding out her hand. “Now, if you could please hand it over. I’ll have to go replace it.”

“Why should I give it to you if you’re just going to get a new one?”

Ingrid turned red. “Why are you using unsafe and forbidden magic in the training yard?!” She shouts, and everyone’s attention is on them now.

Anger and hurt hits Dedue like water against a cliff, but he works to keep his voice steady and calm. “Duscis magic isn’t harmful-”

“Is that what your people said before they murdered Glenn?”

The courtyard is silent now. No one dares to even breathe.

Ingrid looks pyhrrically triumphant, a strong gaze of hatred bearing down onto Dedue. He stands there, trying to figure out the best way to try and lower the intensity of the situation without looking like a violent person himself. 

Mercedes places a hand on Ingrid’s shoulder. “Ingrid-”

“No! Stop trying to cover for him.” Ingrid says, pointing a finger at Dedue. “If your magic isn’t so harmful, then why did you just use it?! If you weren’t going to steal the staff, why did you have it be swallowed up by the floor? I was watching you the whole time, and you waited until no one else was looking to pull that trick!”

Dedue raises an eyebrow. “You were watching me the whole time?”

“Yes!”

“And this is your lance that you practiced with?”

Ingrid stamps her foot. “Of course it is! The lance that you were going to steal!”  
  


“Then you also saw that I moved the lance before Annette could trip over it, right?” He has to fight the smile that threatens to plant itself on his face when Ingrid starts stammering.

Felix scoffs and shakes his head. “Again, Ingrid? A good knight keeps track of where his weapon is.”

Ingrid flinches when Felix says ‘his’. Although Dedue can tell she has her own problems going on, he can’t seem to bring himself to care that much. He nods and smiles at Annette as she thanks him for looking out for her, and stares at Mihail and coughs twice.

Mihail gives him a light shake of his head. And Dedue knows that there’s nothing else that he can do about that, so he doesn’t. Good luck to Ingrid.

* * *

“Ah, I see you both have joined us.” Lorenz says, gesturing to the two empty chairs at the table. “Please, take a seat. I’ve already ordered food to be brought out to the table.”

Mihail took a seat, looking at the other people at the table. Dedue also took a seat, locking eyes with Hubert. The two nodded at each other before facing Lorenz.

“What is this about Gloucester?” The mage grumbles. “My time is precious to me.”

“Hubert.” Edelgard admonishes, sighing. “I am so sorry for his behavior, he’s just upset that Ferdin-”

“I am not upset.” Hubert shot back, sitting straight up in his chair. “I am simply annoyed. I should have come alo-”

“Hubert, please,” Lorenz says, regaining control of the situation. “I haven’t even made the tea yet.”

“Tea?” Dedue asks, still wondering what all of this was about.

Lysithea leaned forward. “Oh, are you gonna do your tea magic?”

Hubert scoffs. “There is no such thing as tea magic.”

Lorenz raised an eyebrow. “Oh really? Then you wouldn’t mind if I tried it right now, I assume, if there’s no such thing.”

Dedue and Mihail shared a look as Hubert nodded. Lorenz reached underneath the table and pulled out a small tea kit. Everyone watched as he filled the small kettle with water and heated it up on a hot stone. He calmly poured it into the six handleless mugs he had brought with him. With an ease and precision that could only come from practice, he poured the mugs back over the kettle.

The earth seemed to shift a tiny bit every time Lorenz finished pouring each mug. By the time the last mug had been emptied, Dedue realized that it felt like there was a small barrier around the table. He refocused on Lorenz as the man put loose tea leaves into the kettle and refilled it. He looked back up at the table. “Would anyone like to switch mugs?”

“Are we supposed to?” Mihail asked, looking around them. Dedue doesn’t know what he’s looking for until he realizes that the air is a bit more still than it usually is.

Lorenz shook his head. “Don’t feel forced to. It is simply a practice to make sure that everyone at the table feels comfortable about drinking the tea.”

“It's a way to prove that you aren’t poisoning anyone.” Hubert says, pushing his mug away from him.

Lorenz swapped it with his own. “That too, if one wants to be so morbid. Anyone else?”

Lysithea shook her head. Dedue thought it was because of her connection to him.

Mihail and Edelgard, to his surprise, did swap their mugs. Dedue chose not to change his mug, not sensing anything malicious from the barrier in the ground.

Lorenz simply nodded after everyone had finished making their choices and started pouring out the tea. It had a strong, flowery scent with hints of citrus and mint. Again, Dedue felt the barrier strengthen after each mug was filled.

After he finished filling all of the mugs, he gave everyone another opportunity to switch mugs. Hubert again swapped with him. No one else did. Mihail reached out and grabbed his own mug, seemingly about to pick it up before Lorenz gently pushed the mug back onto the table. “Please, as the host I need to prove that the tea isn’t poisoned.”

Mihail calmly let go of the mug, staring at the purple-haired man for a few seconds. “Sure.”

Hubert chuckled. “I wouldn’t drink anything until Gloucester drinks first. He could’ve planned every exchange of mugs to make sure that he doesn’t get poisoned in the end, but that’s a very difficult thing to do. So, why would he even take the risk with 5 of us here and drink his own poison?”

Lorenz smiled at the vassal as he picked up his own mug and took a drink from it. He seemed to be perfectly fine as he started talking. “If we wish for this conversation to be a bit more private, everyone has to at least sip a bit of their tea before adding anything.”

Dedue stared at the dark, opaque tea. “And why would we want a private conversation?”

Lysithea took a sip of her tea before she spoke. “I don’t want to talk about why three people in the monastery now have had white hair without a little bit of privacy.”

That got everyone else to quickly take a sip of their mugs. Dedue tasted lemon and pomegranate and something slightly bitter, maybe the root of a flower.

A light shimmering dome slowly fades into view over the table. The cooks bring out plates and silverware to the table. Lorenz thanks them as they place everything at the table and walk away. “Feel free to make your tea to your liking.” Lorenz says, picking up his fork. “As long as one of us doesn’t leave the table, no one outside of the dome will be able to hear what we’re saying.”

“That seems like a lot of secrecy.” Mihail remarks. “Looks like tea magic is real.”

Hubert raises an eyebrow. Dedue thinks that means he’s stuck between being amazed about the demonstration of magic or being torn that he’s incorrect about magic.

Lorenz nods. “Thank you. It’s a lovely and flexible ritual my mother taught me when I was younger.” He says casually as he takes the cover off of his plate. “Please, feel free to dig in. It has been a while since I last had it, but Beast Meat Teppanyaki is rather delicious. I also ordered Daphnel stew just in case the taste doesn’t agree with you.”

* * *

Lunch is interesting. Dedue can’t help but feel like everyone is holding back details of different, very important things. Edelgard, Lysiteha, and Mihail are constantly looking at each other as they slowly and carefully talk about the generalities of Crest implementation (which is horrifying, especially because it’s such a buried version), Lorenz calmly deflects questions about the ritual (which only drives Dedue’s curiosity because the word ritual makes it sound non-Fodlan in nature and Lorenz doesn’t seem to be too worried about showcasing it), and Hubert accidentally slips up and mentions “future plans” (which both makes sense and makes Dedue want to keep an eye on the man because there are at least five people in the monastery who you want to steer clear of if they have a plan and Hubert von Vestra is two of them).

It’s interesting, and as Dedue finishes his tea and feels the start of a headache coming on, he finds that it’s also somewhat infuriating. It’s been simmering under the surface like a volcano slowly building pressure, but Dedue knows he can’t simply try and not cause tremors if he wants to do a better job of keeping himself and his friends safe. If he wants something to happen, he’s going to need to start doing the work himself.

As soon as he’s respectfully able to, he gets up from the table and makes his way to the greenhouse. He breathes a sigh of relief as he sees that there is enough space to plant a few more flowers and plants.

* * *

It’s during their evening lessons that they learn about the tourney of practice bouts that weekend. The rules were simple, for each category, all three houses would pick a representative. Each house member had to participate at least once, and the house with the most points won a celebratory sauna day during the week.

“And points are scored by doing what again?” Sylvain asked.

Byleth sighed. “You get a point for eliminating an enemy, and the last fighter standing gets an extra point.”

“We have to think strategically about this.” Dimitri said, pulling out a piece of parchment and copying all the categories onto it. “Since we have nine students, that’s an advantage for us, but all nine of us have to fight at least once.”

“Just put me down for swords and we’ll be fine.” Felix snaps. That's the only category he gets put into. At the end of the meeting there’s a solid plan, and Dedue nods his head as he steps in for the gauntlet and heavy armor bouts.

* * *

He’s sparring with Dimitri, gauntlets against axes. It’s a light spar, both of them more focused on passing the time until dinner starts. Dedue blocks a swing and steps back to regain a defensive position. “Dimitri?”

“Yes?”

Dedue steps forward and lightly jabs at Dimitri. “Do you have any word on Duscur?”

Dimitri takes the punch and tries to retaliate. He misses. “Mihail and I just sent off a joint letter asking Kleiman to send terms of negotiation for the land that he has right now.”

Dedue nods. “That’s good. What about afterwards?”

Dimitri stumbles, his second swing wide. “Afterwards?”

“The land that was burned and destroyed. We’ll need help building it back up.” Dedue capitalized on the fault, calmly tapping Dimitri twice on the head. “At the very least, Mihail would have mentioned some form of repayment.”

“He did.” Dimitri fell back into a defensive stance. “I’m not sure if it’s wise to make so many demands so quickly right now, since my uncle is currently in my position as Regent to the king.”

Dedue simply does not advance, slowing down the spar’s rhythm. “Does that not make him your voice?”

Dimitri lunges forward, Dedue deflects the blow. “It does.”

“So why do you not ask him to simply tell Kleiman what to do? Or start holding funds for Duscur? You’ve held funds for other matters.”

Dimitri tries to stab again. It’s all too easy for Dedue to dodge the attack. “I don’t want to put my uncle in that awkward position. We still need to show the kingdom that the people of Duscur can be trusted.”

Dedue stops fighting. “Of course,” he lies, remembering the ire that a 15 year old Dimitri got for extending the budget for pegasus knights. “it is nice that you’re thinking long term. Maybe we should continue this discussion over dinner, you seem very distracted.”

Dimitri grips the lance even tighter, and even from his viewpoint, Dedue can see the knuckles turn even paler. “I’m fine. If you want to go eat, please make sure you save me a plate.”

Dedue nods and walks out of the training hall, quickly changing into fresher clothes. Before he goes into the dining hall, he goes into the greenhouse to check on a flower with blue and yellow petals. It has developed small thorns on its stem.

* * *

He’s eating his dinner when he sees Petra hold a berry in her right hand for a few seconds before she eats it. The gesture is normal, she’s even talking to Dorothea. But Dedue swears that a small bite appears on the berry before Petra swallows it.

* * *

Mihail goes off to Abyss while Dedue checks in with his plot in the greenhouse once more. All of the flowers are alive, and besides the blue and yellow one, the one with pegasus wing leaves, and a blue flower with thin leaves and petals, none of them seem to be overly aggressive. For plant based standards, at least. He spends some time watering and checking on each and every flower individually. He’s nearly done with the last flower, a red and black one, when he notices that the flower with green and silver petals is looking directly at him.

“You’re up late.” Hapi says from the door of the greenhouse. Dedue rolls his eyes and continues working.

“I could say the same to you.”

“No you couldn’t.” The older woman kneeled beside him. “You don’t know my sleeping hours.”

“That’s not a good thing.” Dedue notes, before realizing that Hapi is in the greenhouse. “How did you even know I was here?”

She shrugs. “The stars told me.”

“How did you know it was safe to visit me?”

“The stars told me.”

Dedue puts down his watering can. “I’m not going to get a clear answer, am I?”

Hapi smiles. “Not unless you can talk to the stars. You missed the reunion, by the way.”

“I know.” Dedue says, starting to double check his work.

“You should’ve been there. Ci nearly bowled over Mihail when he entered Abyss. Rius lectured and threatened him for 3 minutes straight.”

Dedue raised an eyebrow. “Only 3 minutes? Rius is losing steam.”

“Really? He seemed pretty passionate about Mihail ‘not making any dumb decisions that lead to him being in danger’.” The two of them started chuckling at Hapi’s liberal use of air quotes.

“Trust me, when we were younger, he could go on for at least 4 minutes.”

“Huh,” Hapi says. The green and silver flower wilted slightly. “I guess that I just never grew up with that many people.”

Dedue glances at the woman out of the corner out of his eye. “Mihail has been talking about restoring Duscur. Should I tell him about _Astrum_?”

“If you want to.” Hapi said. “I don’t think we were hit too badly in the Murder.”

Dedue hummed. “How was it like, living in the mountains?”

“It was nice.” Hapi says. “I got really good at climbing things, if you can believe that.”

“I can.”

Hapi smirks. _“Es animus.” (You’re a fool.)_

Dedue smiles as he sees her flower perk up. _“Cognosco.” (I understand <that>.) _

“You should probably get going.” Hapi says, sitting down on the pavement and crossing her legs. “You have a busy day tomorrow.”

“Did the stars tell you that?” Dedue asks, making sure his tools are safely put away.

“They did.” Hapi admits. “They also said to wait 7 minutes after you leave before I start making my way back to Abyss. There’s a guard patrol incoming from the marketplace.”

Dedue’s eyebrow rises. “The stars cannot be that precise.”

“You have a loose stone in the corner of the room where you keep your lamp. It’s enough space for you to hide the random gold you come across in the monastery.”

Dedue nods. “I see. Stay safe, Hapi.”

“You too, D.”

* * *

It feels like no time passes at all until the morning of the tournament. Classes are cancelled for the day. Breakfast is a quick and less social affair, with even the more interconnected people in the monastery sitting with their own houses. There’s catcalls and banter and a sense of competition in the air that seems to follow everyone as they change and get ready for their bouts.

Flynn angrily pouts at her seat next to Seteth, who personally forbade her from being a part of the tournament in exchange for being a part of the Battle of the Eagle and Lion later in the month. Rhea sits in her own chair on the sidelines, smiling serenely as she gazes out at the crowd that forms along the stone edge of the training grounds. The staff are proportioned around the arena, in different places in the crowd. Each professor is with their house, going over last minute preparations and strategies. Dedue nods when Byleth asks him if his gauntlets and armor are ready.

After some time, Jeralt blows into a horn to get everyone’s attention. “Everyone listen up!” He shouts, and the last of the talking spectators gets quiet. “The rules to the tournament are as follows. As your professors should have already told you, we will be using training weapons only. When it comes to the cavalry, flying, and heavy armor bouts, each combatant will be able to pick a training weapon to use during that bout. There will be no use of blessings prior to a bout. Most anything goes inside the bout. Once the bout has commenced, a combatant can be eliminated after getting hit three times, being forced out of the pit, or by resigning if they take a hard enough blow. If I believe that a combatant is about to be dealt a serious blow, I will call off the bout and award points accordingly. Let this be known-” Jeralt stares into the Black Eagles section of the crowd. “There will be no purposeful maiming. You will incur a penalty for personal maiming. Do I make myself clear?”

Hubert nods. After a few more moments, so do Linhardt and Dorothea.

Jeralt looks towards the Golden Deer. Claude and Lysithea nod.

Jeralt looks towards the Blue Lions. Everyone in the Blue Lions turn to face Felix. Felix bristles and nods.

“Good.” Jeralt says. “A house will receive a point if their combatant eliminates an opponent. A house will receive another point if their combatant is the last one in the bout. At the end of the tournament, the house with the most points is the winner. Are we clear?”

There’s a resounding cheer from the crowd, and Jeralt leans back into his judging chair. “Will the sword fighters please step into the pit.”

Felix barely nods at everyone before he leaps into the pit, training sword at the ready. He’s confident and focused. Petra waves at the Black Eagles, accepting a hug from Dorothea before she does a backflip into the pit. She catches her sword as Caspar tosses it to her. She’s confident and happy.

Marianne takes the stairs into the pit. Dedue can feel her uncertainty through her footsteps in the floor. She grips her sword so tightly that her light tremors are easily visible on it’s wooden blade. She gives a weak smile as the Golden Deer cheer, rowdy and loud in their support of her.

Dedue would swear on his life that she nearly jumps when Felix’s eyes narrow on her.

Sylvain whistles lowly. “I hope Petra gets her out this bout quickly.”

“Sylvain!” Ingrid scolds. “That’s rude. At least try and root for Felix.”

“Oh, don’t get me wrong, I think Felix is going to win.” Sylvain whispers, “I just don’t want him to kill her.”

Jeralt blows the horn, and Felix and Petra both immediately dash towards Marianne. The crowd goes silent as Petra reaches her first. 

As nervous as she looked, Marianne wielded a sword rather well. The crowd gasped as she parried the first of Petra’s blows, retaliating with a wide swing that the princess easily dodged. There was a shriek as Marianne quickly brought her sword back in front of her just in time to deflect Petra’s second blow. As she looked back up at the fight, Felix struck, and the Crest of Fraldarius glowed as Marianne fainted at the sight of him.

Jeralt paused the bout and Cyril calmly went over and revived her with smelling salts. Marianne woke up and waved at the cheering Golden Deer.

“Why do you think they’re cheering?” Ashe asked.

“At this point?” Annette shrugs. “Who knows.”

Petra wins the bout after she baits Felix into over-committing with a feint. The Black Eagles cheer and Shamir changes the scoreboard.

_Black Eagles - 2_

_Blue Lions - 1_

_Golden Deer - 0_

* * *

The bout with lances is over in less than a minute. Ferdinand bows out immediately after Dimitri catches him in the chest with a strong swing, and Leonie only manages to hit the prince once before she’s eliminated.

_Black Eagles - 2_

_Blue Lions - 4_

_Golden Deer - 0_

* * *

Edelgard and Hilda look at Sylvain as he grins at them. They look at each other, nod, and yell out battle cries as they run towards him. Hilda gets to eliminate Sylvain, but Edelgard gets to win the bout.

_Black Eagles - 4_

_Blue Lions - 4_

_Golden Deer - 1_

The Golden Deer starts chanting Hilda’s name after the scoreboard shows their first point. Jeralt has to take the moment to quiet them.

* * *

Ashe is quicker, Ignatz is more accurate, and Bernadetta’s arrows were stronger. So when they all bowed out at the same time, Jeralt just gave each house a point. Shamir looked proud as she changed the scoreboard.

_Black Eagles - 5_

_Blue Lions - 5_

_Golden Deer - 2_

* * *

Dedue calmly lowers himself onto the floor, noting that Caspar and Raphael would be fighting him. He takes his gauntlets, makes sure that they are fastened properly, and waits for Jeralt to start the match.

As soon as the match starts, he feels Caspar start running towards him, and he quickly decides to deal with the blue-haired firecracker. They trade blows, two each, and as Caspar backs up, Raphael catches him in the gut to eliminate him.

Dedue thinks about his options. He needs to hit Raphael three times without getting hit once. The stone of the floor hums underneath his feet, and Dedue remembers that Jeralt said that nearly anything goes in a bout.

So he runs forward and gets two good punches on Raphael before falling back and focusing on the stone. When Raphael throws his first punch, Dedue flicks his wrist, and a thin pillar erupts from the ground and catches the punch before it hits him. Raphael looks confused as he throws a second punch and Dedue does the same. 

As Raphael retreats, Hilda shouts, “Isn’t that cheating?! We can’t do that!”

“Too bad.” Jeralt says. “Sometimes you have to deal with a person who can do something you can’t. The match continues.”

Dedue looks back at Raphael just in time to duck under a third punch and catch the fourth with another pillar. In a flash of inspiration, he has the pillar go over the blond man’s wrist so that it’s easier to deliver the third tap and win the bout for the Blue Lions.

Mihail and Ashe cheer the loudest as Jeralt declares him the victor, and Dedue can’t help but notice all of the shifty looks he’s getting. As he starts lowering all the pillars back into the ground, he sees the smile on Raphael’s face as he heads back up to the Golden Deer, and Seteth gives him a nod while Flayn’s eyes are still wide.

_Black Eagles - 5_

_Blue Lions - 7_

_Golden Deer - 3_

* * *

Marianne reenters the pit with far more confidence than she did in the first bout, nodding at both Mercedes and Linhardt.

A glyph appears underneath Mercedes as she fires white magic at Linhardt. A glyph appears underneath Linhardt as he fires white magic at Mercedes. 

The grin on Marianne’s face as she claps her hands together and summons a pillar of light onto Mercedes is shocking. Linhardt bows out immediately afterwards.

The Golden Deer quickly haul her out of the pit and onto their shoulders. She blushes and covers her face.

_Black Eagles - 5_

_Blue Lions - 7_

_Golden Deer - 6_

* * *

Annette trips over her own shoe. Lorenz screams as he ducks and his hair catches on fire. Dorothea smiles and sings an opera as she continues to fire lightning from a safe distance.

_Black Eagles - 8_

_Blue Lions - 7_

_Golden Deer - 6_

* * *

The three dark mages of the Officers Academy stare each other down. The crowd is the quietest it’s ever been. Rhea herself is on duty to make sure that none of the dark magic leaves the arena. Everyone watches as Mihail flicks his wrist and forces stones to jump off of the ground into a small twister.

“There’s no spellcasting outside of the required magic.” Hubert taunts.

Mihail smirks. “Did you see a glyph?” He asks. “Is there a sigil around my hand?”

Jeralt sighs. “I’ll allow it. I swear, some of you kids really are pulling out every trick in the book.”

Lysithea attacks first, conjuring up a swarm of insects that Mihail is able to blow away. He fires back with magic that looks like a dark bog falls onto the white haired girl. He launches out three stones immediately afterwards and Lysithea looks furious that she’s been eliminated so early.

Hubert conjures up quick flying lights, and Mihail grunts as the spell hits him. Mihail screams, and there’s a dark echo that fills the entire arena as Hubert’s blown back by the force of the spell. 

Mihail capitalizes by launching three more stones and claiming the victory. He bows to Rhea, one of the only people who doesn’t seem at all unnerved by what just happened, as she gently claps. Flayn looks confused, and Seteth has an eyebrow raised.

Felix shakes his head, probably to stop the ringing in his ears. “I hate dark magic sometimes.”

_Black Eagles - 8_

_Blue Lions - 10_

_Golden Deer - 6_

* * *

If anyone expected someone to play dirty during any bout, people would’ve put money on Claude. Or Hubert. Sylvain. Hilda. Linhardt. Hubert. Felix. Dorothea. Hubert. Hubert.

So it’s a shock to everyone when Lorenz makes his strategy to scare the horses outside of bounds instead of attacking the riders. He wins by a landslide. Half of the Golden Deer cheer for him while the other half starts calling him a hypocrite.

_Black Eagles - 8_

_Blue Lions - 10_

_Golden Deer - 9_

* * *

Ingrid smiles as she leaps onto her pegasus. She grabs the lance that Dimtiri offers her and chooses to fly closer to the center of the arena.

Everyone watches as Petra and Claude get on their respective mounts. Everyone watches as the two pick bows. Everyone watches as they look up at Ingrid, then at each other.

They nod.

Jeralt legitimately can’t tell who shot Ingrid out of the sky, so he awards both houses with a point. During the aerial duel, Dedue sees Petra mutter something to herself before Claude’s wyvern is suddenly off balance. She places the training arrow right on his forehead, and swoops down to catch the heir.

There’s a silence before they start laughing as Petra lands. Dedue spots the shock on Lorenz’s face and the confusion on Mihail’s. He resolves not to touch that mess with a ten foot pole.

_Black Eagles - 11_

_Blue Lions - 10_

_Golden Deer - 10_

* * *

Dedue could have been nicer with the last bout. He didn’t have to abuse the weight of the armor and turn the battlefield into a maze of barriers as he practiced his archery. But he really wanted that trip to the sauna.

Besides, he wasn’t even perfect with it. Raphael threw his axe at Edelgard to steal the point away from him.

“And the winners, with 12 points, are the Blue Lions!”

* * *

The celebratory feast is rowdy. Raphael claps Dedue on the shoulder as he enters the dining hall. Edelgard is chatting with Hubert and Caspar. Linhardt is somehow sleeping through the noise of Hilda shouting about how well Marianne did. Lorenz and Claude are sitting with Mihail and Mihail is talking about something, probably not aware of the looks that Claude and Lorenz are giving him. He catches Dorothea’s eye and she smiles and walks over to him. She barely takes her seat before the Archbishop walks into the dining hall and asks for everyone’s attention.

“I simply want to congratulate the Blue Lions again for their victory in the bouts.” Rhea says. “But on a wider scale, I do believe that with the talent and hard work I’ve seen today, you are all going to do splendid at the Battle of the Eagle and Lion.”

The dining hall erupts into cheers, and Dorothea rolls her eyes as she takes another bite of food.

Rhea holds up her hand and the hall quiets down again. “For the last part of my small announcements, I want to reward the students who did the most work for their houses. If I call your name, please stand up so that Seteth and Flayn may give you your due earnings. For the Black Eagles, Edelgard von Hresvelg with 2 points, Dorothea Arnault with 3 points, and Petra Macneary with 5 points.” 

Dorothea’s eyes widened as Seteth handed her a bag of gold. She placed it on the table, and the weight of it caused Dedue’s eyes to widen too.

“For the Golden Deer,” Rhea continued, “Raphael Kirsten with 2 points, Lorenz Hellman Gloucester with 3 points, and Marianne von Edmund with 3 points.”

It’s at this moment that the bulk of the dining hall start to catch on to how much gold is actually being given out, with shocked gasps and small yelps. Raphael is talking about sending the entire bag to his little sister, Marianne simply just stares at hers as she holds it, and Lorenz silently tries to push his bag in front of Leonie, who immediately shoves it back.

“And finally, for the Blue Lions, Dimitri Alexaindre Blaiddyd with 3 points, Mihail Vessyl with 3 points, and Dedue Molinaro with 4 points.”

The bag that Dedue receives is definitely hefty. He shakes it, and the sounds of coins clinking is even more surprising. Mihail hunts him down almost immediately as Rhea leaves the dining hall. “De! _Est magnum!_ ” _(It’s huge/great!)_

Dedue immediately pulls him in for a hug. When they split, there’s a huge smile on his face. _“Scio!”_ He says excitedly. Mihail takes a seat next to him and they place the bags next to each other. _“Cogito est quinque Virgilii.” (I know! I think it’s 5 Virgils.)_

_“Cupio.” (I wish <it is>.) _

Dorothea clears her throat. “I got 250 gold.” She said, holding up her bag. “You guys might want to double check yours just in case.”

Right. Dedue thanks Dorothea as he starts counting out the gold in his bag. It takes him a significantly longer time than it seemed to have taken Dorothea. Mihail gives him a thumbs up after he finishes counting his bag. He’s just about to say something when Petra appears at her side and hugs her. “Thea, can you count my bounty quickly?”

“Sure.” Dorothea says, lightly blushing as Petra pecks her on the cheek and hands her the bag of gold. Dedue watches as Dorothea works through the bag in less than 2 minutes, not even removing a piece of gold. At one point, she pauses in her count and looks up at Dedue with an eyebrow raised.

He feels his face get hot. “I’m impressed at how well you count money.”

“Yeah, it’s a little trick I picked up on the streets of Enbarr.” Dorothea mutters, going back to her task. “You know, half of the guys I’ve dated here are shocked that I can keep track of money. Some even say it sullies my pretty little voice to do math.”

Dedue thinks back to their first actual interaction, the informal dinner. “That’s not smart.”

“I know, right?” Dorothea laughs, handing Petra her bag back. “There’s 251 pieces of gold, I wouldn’t let them know about the extra, darling.” Petra blushes as Dorothea turns back to face Dedue. “Some guys even call off the date right there because they consider it immoral for me to be able to do whatever property taxes they need.”

Dedue opens his mouth to ask Dorothea exactly how she learned her way around money, but Felix takes his seat in between him and Mihail with a grunt. “The boar told me to ask you two to give your gold to the knights.”

Mihail looked as confused as Dedue felt. “I thought the knights had enough gold for the next year.”

“The last budget that they had passed.” Dedue said, remembering the ludicrous amounts of gold given to the Kingdom’s recruitment programs. “It was at least 10,000 Virgils.”

Felix’s eyes narrow. “10,000 what?”

“500,000 gold. But the actual budget was around 518,000 gold if I remember correctly.” Mihail answers for him. Dorothea and Petra’s eyes shoot wide open.

“The knights of Faerghus get 500,000 gold a year and still ask for donations?” Dorothea asks. “Know your worth, I guess.”

“They’re important.” Felix snaps. “The boar is giving away his whole prize to them. The least they could do is 50 gold.”

Mihail snorted. “A whole Virgil? You’re joking, right?”

Felix bristles. “Why would I be. What else would you spend it on?”

“My house when I get back home?” Mihail says incredulously, holding his bag of coins close to him. “What else would I spend it on?”

“Protection of your house, obviously.” Felix says. “What if your house gets attacked?”

Mihail bites his lip, and Dedue knows that he was about to make a comment about Faerghus that would have been dangerous for his health later on down the road. “Houses usually don’t get attacked in Duscur.” He says instead, and Dedue places his hand over his wrist in solidarity.

“Huh, strange.” Felix says, turning to face Dedue. “You’ll give something though, right? You’re the boar’s lapdog.”

Dedue feels the wall around his face break in an instant, mortar and bricks disintegrating into ash at Felix’s words, letting the shock and hatred on his face be clear to everyone who’s watching. The stone that Felix is sitting on tilts and the man falls backwards with a yell. Dedue looks down at the table before he does a lot more with the earth around him. He tightens his grip on Mihail’s wrist.

“Felix!” Ingrid shouts, running over. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. The boar’s dogs-”

“Oh, so now it’s both of us!?” Mihail hisses, and Dedue looks up to see that Felix is standing up again. Mihail stands up too, with Dedue still holding onto him. “You’re disgusting for coming over here and trying to force us to give away our earnings to a country we aren’t even a part of.”

“You need to pay for the Tragedy!”

“You need to pay for the Murder!”

Sylvain steps in between them, hands up. “Guys, we’re in the dining hall-”

“You called them dogs!?” Dorothea shouts, climbing over the table to stand in front of Felix. “What’s wrong with you?”

“It is wrong to call them dogs, but-”

Dorothea snaps to face Ingrid. “Ingrid, if you say one more word about them I will be held responsible for my actions, and I don’t want to be right now, okay?” Ingrid nods and backs up. “Now, you-” she jabs at Felix’s chest. “What do you think gives you the right to stand there and demand that people give away their money and to call them dogs when they don’t want to? Huh? Is that noble title on your head making you dumber? Did you lose too much breath during your swordplay? What is it?”

Felix starts stuttering before he points at Dedue. “The boar saved his life, the least he could do is give some gold back to the Kingdom.”

“And if Dimitri came over and asked me like a _friend_ ,” Dedue spits out with a venom on his tongue he normally doesn’t have, “I would have done so. But he did not. So I won’t.”

“That’s selfish!” Ingrid argues. “You owe Dimitri your life!”

“And he owes me my home back!” Dedue shouts. He jumps when someone places a hand on his shoulder, only to stop tensing his shoulders when he realizes it’s Ashe.

Dimitri is nearly at their table when Felix speaks again. “Fine! Whatever you and the boar come up with is none of my business. But you-” He points at Mihail, and Mihail glares at him. “You owe me for killing my brother.”

The dining hall falls into shocked silence.

“I was 13, you idiot!” Mihail wrenches his wrist out of Dedue’s grip and points at Felix. “Are you so stupid as to think that a 13 year old could murder a trained knight?”

“So it was you and your family, everyone in the Kingdom knows that.”

Dedue is positive that Mihail is seeing red right now. “We were ambushed! On the open road! There were too many people! I ran away to live!”

“You ran away because you were scared to see it through like your parents!” Felix roars. Petra gasps. It’s like a ripple effect as everyone pieces together what Felix is insinuating. “You ran away, and now you’re trying to waltz back into our lives, and you owe us for that.”

Mihail stands on a table. “Let it be known, Fraldarius,” he says, using a stray breeze to bring his bag of gold into his hand. “I owe you, your smug attitude, your repugnant face, and your lack of a decent mind _nothing_.” 

There’s no motion for a few seconds. Then Felix leaps at Mihail. Petra catches him and forces him down onto the table. Dorothea holds onto Ingrid’s waist. Mercedes and Annette look scared as they back away from the table a few seats down. Sylvain is just turning his head back and forth, looking at his childhood friends. Ashe takes Mihail’s seat, patting Dedue on the back.

Dimitri looks conflicted. He sighs and goes to pick up Felix, holding him up off the ground. “I think it’s time we retired for the night.”

“Are you going to get her too?” Lorenz asks, pointing at a struggling Ingrid.

“Ingrid doesn’t mean any ill will.” Dimitri says. “Neither does Felix. They’re just both upset about their performances in the tournament today.”

The look on everybody’s face in the dining hall shows that they don’t fully believe that.

Dimitri starts walking over to the door, carrying an angry Fraldarius. “We’ll see you all in the morning.”

As they leave, Mihail climbs down off the table and is immediately whisked away by the Golden Deer. Dedue reaches to grab his own bag of gold, and Ingrid snatches it off the table. Dorothea looks upset that she got out of her hold.

“This,” Ingrid says while backing up, “is going to the kni-”

Caspar trips her and catches the gold bag as she drops it. Ferdinand catches her as she falls. Hubert calmly places a hand on each side of her head and puts her to sleep. “Does anyone want to carry her to her bed?”

Sylvain, Mercedes, and Annette take the opportunity to leave the hall.

Linhardt yawns, waking up from their nap. “Did Fraldarius snap yet?”

“Not the time nor the place, Hevring.” Edelgard hisses at them. She faces Dedue. “If that happens again, let one of us know.” Her tone tells him there’s no room for argument, so Dedue just nods. “Do you want someone to help you back to your room?”

“That won’t be necessary.” He says, grabbing the bag as Caspar slides it down the table. “Thank you all for your actions, but-”

Dorothea groaned. “Please don’t finish that sentence or I will definitely be held responsible for my actions. You don’t deserve that.”

Dedue looks over at Mihail, who is directly in the middle of the Golden Deer. Marianne, Claude, and Lorenz are fussing over him while everyone else is keeping watch around them. “I know.” He says, getting ready to leave. “But words don’t have a chance to pierce the skin.”

He takes a detour into the greenhouse. The flower with blue petals and the flower with “pegasus feathers” both contain small pockets of a toxic sap now.

* * *

Seteth angrily sighs as he paces back and forth in front of the Blue Lions classroom. He stops, turns to face them, and then turns away with another angry sigh and starts pacing again. “Ridiculous. This is utterly ridiculous. And during a celebratory dinner, of all things. What started this?”

“Felix came over-”

“The boar asked me to-”

“That was rhetorical.” Seteth says, and both Mihail and Felix get quiet. “Note that I have already heard what I believe to be an accurate account of the event from multiple people who weren’t involved. I already know who did what.” He turned to face the classroom again, crossing his arms. “Now, I am aware of the reported history of Faerghus. I find it to be no excuse for the behaviors exhibited last night. Mr. Fraldarius and Ms. Galatea are to spend their next 3 free days with me- Sit down, Ms. Galatea.”

Ingrid slowly sank back into her seat.

“Where they will spend time helping the monastery staff and we will talk about why they believe that harassing their fellow classmates is acceptable. Mr. Blaiddyd is to join me in the afternoon so that we may discuss how to diffuse tense situations. Mr. Molinaro and Mr. Vessyl will spend part of their lunch today helping the staff cook and clean. Do I make myself clear?”

“That’s it?” Ingrid asks. “They caused Felix to fall on the floor.”

“Ah, Ms. Galatea, if you wanted to spend 4 days with me, you could have just asked.” Seteth says, staring at the girl. “As it stands, the only things that they have done were to warp church property, which was fixed by Mr. Molinaro without reprimand this morning, and standing on a table. Mr. Fraldarius called them both derogatory names, accused one of being a murderer, and then insinuated nasty things about that person’s parents. You yourself have a history of antagonizing them and insinuating nasty things about them as well.”

“Mihail threatened me once!”

Seteth glanced over at Mihail. “Mr. Vessyl?”

“During a training bout, Ingrid refused to let me heal her afterwards. She even went as far as to swing her lance at me herself. I may have overstepped myself and made a comment about how if this was how she was going to treat her comrades as a knight, she may join her fiance sooner than she thinks.”

The room is deathly quiet after Mihail speaks. Felix is glaring at him, Sylvain’s mouth is wide open, and Ingrid has a smirk on her face. Seteth clears his throat. “Hm. Mr. Vessyl, you can spend the afternoon in the cathedral today. Ms. Galatea, you have a 5th day with me.”

The smirk falls off of Ingrid’s face.

“Does anyone else have something they want to add?” The room was silent. “Good. I believe that Professor Eisner has a wonderful lecture for you all today on battle maneuvers. Happy Monday.”

As Seteth leaves, Sylvain yawns and leans back in his chair. His hand is right in front of Dedue’s face, with a folded piece of paper in it. Dedue grabs it before Sylvain sits back up and opens it.

_Hey, meet me in my room this afternoon? I just got some ginger tea._

Dedue rolls his eyes. Of course the redhead could remember what tea he drinks.

* * *

It’s honestly a surprise when they win the Battle of the Eagle and Lion. Dedue considers Byleth to be a genius for putting Ingrid and Felix together to deal with some of the stragglers far away from him.

The celebration dinner is charged. Claude, Dorothea, Lorenz, and Petra all sit at the Blue Lions table with them. Dedue has a smile on his face as he and Petra talk about their experiences during combat. He nearly spits out his food as Petra tells him stories about even more assassination attempts.

“How do you know about them every time?” He asks.

Petra smiles. “I have friends in small places.” She subtly taps her shoulder, and Dedue sees a little spirit shimmer into existence as it sits there, waving at him.

Dedue smiles back, amazed at the sight. “I assume that these friends you have are everywhere?”

“That could be said.” Petra says, as she picks up another forkful of food. “It is a great part of Brigid culture. The bushes have eyes, you know.”

“And the air can touch a wing.” Dedue says, remembering the flying bout. “Impressive.”

“Thank you.”

They switch the conversation topic to the weather. Dorothea and Claude get into an argument about the difference between cloudy and overcast. Mihail, Lorenz, and Petra all look on with near far away gazes.

Dedue and Ashe share a look with each other as they take a drink.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Infirmary nonsense. Manuela and Hanneman just scream "coworkers who tolerate each other but can't help but antagonize each other" to me.
> 
> A bit of Duscis history/culture through card games!! Again, this comes from the idea that learning through play is a valid way to learn.
> 
> Gee, Mhiail, why did I decide you get TWO secrets?
> 
> Hair. It's honestly such an important form of self expression. Like, I've been growing mines out and although twisting it every night takes some work, it's honestly so worth it. Also, a good description about the experiments and with implications on how they've evolved.
> 
> Ugly xenophobic and racist rumors in the monastery??? Who could've seen that coming????
> 
> Ingrid and Her Issues. Like, I want to be nicer to her, but she found her niche as a minor antagonist and refuses to budge. (ft. Felix and the inherent misogyny of Faerghus)
> 
> Lorenz flexing his political muscles!!! This purple haired Hellman snuck into this fic so easily and I honestly love it. Also, half-Dagdan!Lorenz is the wave, I don't make the rules, I just enforce them
> 
> Dedue sees Lorenz showing off and decides to start shaking the table himself. Sometimes, a turning point of a story can be minor with larger consequences down the road (aka, you don't always need a fight scene to change the trajectory of a narrative)
> 
> Training Tournament Arc? Training Tournament Arc.
> 
> A talk about reparations that goes nowhere. Dedue just wants to get his foot in the door.
> 
> Petra!!!! Love her.
> 
> Dedue and Hapi have a scene that really surprised me with a. how out of the blue it seemed to me writing it, and b. how easy it was to write. Hapi is such a good character, and I decided to take the fact that she's probably the most educated/smartest character in game and her love of astronomy and combine them into her Duscur backstory, where she and her family learned about the world through the stars. (If you know about Vampire The Masquerade, you would not be far off if you said that Hapi acts like a Malkavian in this scene.)
> 
> Tournament Arc!!!! I love every bit of this and I think it's a lot better than anything I could've done for the battle of the Eagle and Lion. Here's your action.
> 
> The Celebratory Feast. I wanted to give Dorothea a chance to shine here, so the money counting really came in handy for that. The excitement of the reward was just *chef's kiss*.
> 
> Okay, because I know I'm going to get a comment on this: The amount of gold that the knight's of Faerghus got. In order to figure this out [ I took a very conservative estimate of the Church of Seiros' Budget, which came out to 959,732g a year.](https://mercurialcomet.tumblr.com/post/620735458156167168/look-i-get-it-you-think-rhea-is-hot) Since the church effectively runs as it's own country, I simply treated that number as the yearly budget for Faerghus and counted the knights as military, taking the same amount of funds from the annual budget as the US did in 2015: 54%. This makes the actual cost 518,255g. Nationalism and Militarism!!!
> 
> Felix continued to elevate this scene with his ability to be efficiently mean. Like, Mihail was absolutely being snarky and rude, but I just kept on finding Felix to be cruel af with no chill. I love that Dorothea was able to sneak in her jabs though.
> 
> Dimitri is..... something. This is something for later.
> 
> The Black Eagles coming together is also something I didn't quite expect, but enjoy anyway.
> 
> People. Recieve. Consequences. For. Being. Ugly. (Turn That Shit Up!!)
> 
> A small Dedue and Petra scene, just to round out the chapter. Dedue and Ashe are starting to become tired of all the potential pining.


	14. White Clouds: Mundus Mutaverant

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> mundus mutaverant: the world/globe changes/shifts/warps/distorts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I actually have a small announcement!
> 
> After the next update (August 22nd), I will be going on hiatus for a bit, most likely until November 21st (which also happens to be my birthday lmao). This is because by the time the 22nd rolls around, I will be back in school, and I am relying on an academic scholarship to pay for everything, so I will be very busy with that.
> 
> Continuing on, I just want to say thank you to everyone who's read, kudos'd (?), commented, and just overall followed me as I've been writing this. I know it's very obvious how my writing style has changed from the beginning of this fic to now (and, if we're really being serious, from the earlier version of this to now). I'm also glad that everyone who has read this is able to keep an open mind and be willing to read a more organized version of the stream of consciousness I have in my head about this game. 
> 
> Seriously, thanks. I didn't think I'd write this much, and now this is at-
> 
> Haha, we have a long way to go still. Have fun reading.

It’s obvious at this point that the Officers Academy is notably different as the Red Wolf Moon comes around. When he isn’t in class, Dedue notices that at least one the Black Eagles is around him, whether it’s Caspar and Petra in the training hall, Bernadetta in the greenhouse, Edelgard and Ferdinand eating with him in the dining hall, or Dorothea constantly bringing him to the marketplace so that they can look at jewelry together.

He immediately puts back a ring that she picks up, staring the vendor down. “That’s not worth what he says it is.”

“Hm, really?” Dorothea asks, looking up at him. “How badly was I about to get ripped off?”

“It’s iron coated in silver, not pure silver. The craftsmanship is shoddy. Besides,” Dedue said, making sure that he made eye contact with the vendor, “this ring was not made by the Ardens family, because the forges that belonged to them were burned down by the Kingdom.”

The merchant pales before he tosses the ring behind him. It hits the stone wall and rings. “Right. Sorry about that.”

Dorothea sighed. “Can’t trust anything now, can you? Come on Duei, let's talk to more trustworthy people.” As they walk away, Dedue is pretty sure he sees Hubert duck behind a wall.

“So,” Dorothea starts, “if you don’t mind me asking, how do you know about the Ardens?”

“The Ardens and my family worked together in their forges,” Dedue answered. “We gave materials and they had the space and furnaces.”

“Nice. So your family made jewelry?”

“No, my immediate family worked as blacksmiths and builders. I had a few cousins who focused on finer metalwork, but none of them would really call themselves jewelers.” They’re at a second merchant who’s selling jewelry as Dedue finishes speaking.

Dorothea looked interested. “That’s really nice. Were you going to be a blacksmith too?”

Dedue shook his head. “No, I was actually working with my cousin Jule with lumber. My sister was a lot better with metalworking then I was.”

Dorothea looks at a golden bracelet. “Oh? What was her name?”

“Aura.”

Dorothea smiles, putting the bracelet down. “That’s a lovely name. Bet she was a wonderful person.”

Dedue can’t help but smile at the first memory he thinks of whenever he thinks of Aura: the two of them shoving flour in each other’s faces. They were 10 and 11. “She was.” He grabs the bracelet and feels it for a few seconds. “I think this one is real, if you were wondering.”

“Eh.” Dorothea shrugs. “I’m kind of hungry now. Want to go eat?”

“Sure.”

* * *

“Dimitri,” Ashe starts during lunch one day, cutting through the tension at the Blue Lions’ table. “Taxes were just collected back home, right?”

Dimitri nodded. “That’s right.”

“I completely forgot about it, but did Lonato’s proposal pass?” Ashe asks. “He told me that after adopting me and my siblings, he was looking up different ways to help support different local kitchens and orphanages by raising the funds from the budget.”

Dedue looked down at the table. The budget that passed took away a little bit of gold from everything to help fund the knights. As far as Dedue knew, no one even gave the dead man’s proposal a serious glance.

“Sorry Ashe,” Dimitri says apologetically. “A good portion of the budget went into helping the knights with weapon maintenance and production.”

Ashe sighs. “Ah. How much of the budget went to the health of the public?”

Dedue looks up to see a conflicted look on Dimitri’s face as he says, “I can’t seem to remember. At least 75,000 gold.”

Ashe looks disappointed. Dedue thinks he should be, considering that he remembers the Kingdom budget was around 900,000 gold. “Oh. That’s not much.”

“Well, we need to protect the citizens.” Dimitri reasons. “We wouldn’t be a good country if we couldn’t protect our own.”

It’s at this moment that Dedue remembers that Ashe’s parents died due to sickness. He remembers hearing about the sickness in a few Faerghus towns, with a lack of knowledge about treating it as quickly as Duscis towns did. What was a simple few weeks where few people got sick and died in Duscur was a disaster for Faerghus.

Dedue wants to break his silence and ask how they are going to protect the citizens from disease, but as he spots Ingrid out of the corner of his eye, he chooses not to, picking up another forkful.

* * *

Cibor is somehow filling the blade of his dagger with _vita_. Dedue watches in fear and respect as the magical energy crackles around the blade, sparking with life and potential. Bryn is chuckling as they take a seat next to him. “Kinda terrifying, isn't it?”

He hums. “Slightly. Isn’t everything?”

“Yeah, but isn’t that the fun of it all?” Bryn asked, casually holding a fireball. Dedue took in their appearance, from the braid that parted their afro to the sturdy clothes that used to help handle high temperatures and roaring flames. They had lost a bit of weight, probably out of stress, but they were still able to fit their clothes. Their smile still glowed like a campfire as they jokingly seemed to lack care about dangers, but their eyes were a pyre that said otherwise.

Dedue quickly fashions a mini pit for Bryn to throw the fire into. “We can call it fun if we want to.” He says, sitting back up.

“What are we calling fun?” Rius asks as he takes a seat besides Bryn. Bryn tosses in the fireball and lights the pit.

“Everything dangerous,” Bryn says, giving Rius a quick peck on the cheek. “Which could just mean everything.”

Rius frowns as the three look out to see Cibor and Mihail excitedly talking to each other with a small storm of _vita_ forming in between them. “Right.”

Dedue glanced at the older man after he spoke with a clipped tone, noticing how tight his grip on his sword was as it sat on his knee. Bryn placed their hand over his and whispered in his ear for a few moments before taking the sword away from him. As the two cousins continued to control their magic together, Dedue spoke again. “So, how was it after the Murder?”

“Bad.” Bryn answered. “After we lost you-”

_“There are some more Duscur scum!”_

_“Come on! They can’t burn down the forges!”_

_“What are they doing?”_

_“Run! That’s a-”_

_“Rius!”_

_“Bryn, stop! You’re gonna hurt him!”_

“And so we ran and hid in the caves nearby,” Bryn finishes, fully hugging Rius at this point. “It was pretty touch and go at some points, but as soon as we got word from Mihail, we came here as fast as possible.”

Dedue feels sick hearing what happened, but he’s more concerned for Rius. “Rius, are you alright? Especially after-”

“Haven’t cut my hair yet out of revulsion, have I?” Rius jokes with a grimace. “I can handle hearing about it again. It’s not like when we were kids.”

“I can still be concerned,” Dedue argues.

“I know. I just still have my own things that, you know-” Rius waved his free hand. “Or don’t. I had an appointment on the day it all happened.”

Oh. That explains the small shifts in behavior he noticed. “Can I hug you?”

Rius shrugs. “Sure.” Knowing that to be a clear yes from him, Dedue joins Bryn in hugging the man, and they sit there for a minute or two, the two of them whispering about more positive events in their lives to help pull him away from the main inciting event.

As they leave, Dedue lets Adrista know to keep an eye on Rius. She sighs and fiddles with her _gemma_ as she nods in awareness.

* * *

Speaking of changes in the monastery, Dedue can’t help but notice how the Golden Deer have practically adopted Mihail. It seems like everytime he sees the future ambassador, he’s either being dragged to the library, politely asked to provide company in the cathedral, busy answering questions about Duscis art, or training with the members of the third house.

Now, he’s sandwiched in between Claude and Lorenz as they seem to be in an argument. Dedue doesn’t care to attempt to make out the words, but Lorenz sounds appalled and Claude sounds smug, so it must be business as usual. Mihail makes eye contact with Dedue as the two ask him a question and Dedue can tell that he’s trying not to laugh when he answers with a voice like a dry wind.

He looks away just in time to see a small spirit fly into its bush. Claude and Lorenz both sound shocked as they respond. Dedue just rolls his eyes and walks into the Blue Lions classroom to see if he’s missing any homework.

* * *

One day, as they’re fighting some bandits that have hidden in the ruins, Dedue notices the difference in between how certain members of the house fight around him. Annette and Mercedes were comfortable with running past him in order to cast their spells, and Annette would cheer him on every now and then as he engaged with an enemy. Ashe takes care to make sure that Dedue was out of the way before he fired an arrow, and Sylvain sometimes leads his horse across the entire battlefield to help support him if a group tries to engage.

In comparison, Felix keeps his distance from him, which by itself isn’t strange. But it’s when Mihail goes to heal him and Felix practically snaps at him that the strength of his hatred really shows through. Byleth gets in between the two of them and Mihail backs off, walking back towards his own battalion. Ingrid flies erratically in front of him and throws javelins even if Dedue isn’t fully out of the way, making combat much more difficult. Dimitri just seems more and more vacant now, still a dangerous force on the field, but less responsive to when his name was called, only instantly reacting whenever he or Byleth called his name.

It’s worrying that it seems like the entire Blue Lions House is ignoring the tremors of visible tension that’s shaking foundations they all stand on. Dedue sighs at the end of the battle and makes the decision to talk to Dimitri soon.

* * *

Soon happens to be as he’s leaving the sauna, still wearing the academy loungewear and sighing at the shift from warm and humid air to the simple breeze in the night air. Dimitri is still dressed in his student uniform, and all of the years that Dedue has spent near the prince’s side forces his eyes to notice how close Dimitri’s hand is to the sword at his side. “Dedue.”

“Dimitri.” That’s a comfortable term for now. Sure, it avoids the power that Dimitri has over him, but the fact that Dimitri is carrying a sword and he isn’t is enough for that right now. Besides, there’s power in forcefully reminding Dimitri of his kingliness and Dedue does not want to deal with the moodiness that would follow at that.

“I- uh,” The prince rubbed the back of his head as he pulled out a small bag. “There was some gold left over in the budget, and I thought about our past conversation on reparations.”

“Oh?”

“Yes. So I asked for the difference.” Dimitri holds out the bag, and Dedue can hear the clinking of gold. “To Duscur.”

“Thank you,” Dedue says before he takes the gold. When he actually takes it, he notices that the bag is a lot lighter than the bag that the Archbishop awarded him last moon. As he opens it, he can see less coins in the canvas pouch, “If you do not mind me asking, how much gold is this?”

“It should be close to 100 gold. I would have given more, but Kleiman said that it should be enough to help rebuild one village.”

100 gold. Kleiman. Enough to rebuild one village. Dedue sighs as he closes the bag. “Thank you. This is a good start to rebuilding Duscur.”

Dimitri freezes. “Start?”

“This is barely enough gold to run one of Duscur’s smaller towns in a moon, even when it’s completely pristine,” Dedue explains, praying that Dimitri truly didn’t believe that you could rebuild an entire country off of 2 Virgils. “Rebuilding and housing people, cost of food and water, labor- All of that costs time and compensation.”

Dimitri nodded. “Of course. But I just thought that Duscur would be able to handle all of those costs.”

Dedue was incredulous. “Dimitri. Duscur was put to the torch. Surely Mihail has told you that there is almost nothing left?”

“But the people who caused the Tragedy should pay for the brunt of Duscur’s damages,” The prince says. “They are the cause of this mess.”

Dedue is on the edge of a canyon at this moment, wondering if he should openly talk about how Faerghus revolted and murdered a country for little reason. At this point, he’s tired of hearing about the King’s Tragedy. But he has to be nicer about it. “As a friend,” he starts, voice as steady as the stone beneath his feet, “I would wonder if my actions come at your expense.”

Dimitri looks confused. “What?”

“Yes, Duscur was not involved in the Tragedy. Yes, someone else is the cause of the king’s death. But those people are not responsible for the Kingdom’s actions.”

“But they killed my father,” Dimitri says. “We should focus on finding them.”

“Dimitri, Duscur had nothing to do with your father’s death besides the death of our ambassadors and Mihail’s disappearance,” Dedue says. He takes in the prince’s demeanor, tense and scared. “I am not sure if Duscur can even attempt to help you find the culprits right now with the state it’s in.”

There’s a long silence as Dedue’s words seem to stick in the air. Dedue hopes that they’ve at least sunk into the floor as Dimitri simply excuses himself and walks away. The bag of gold in his hand feels heavier as he wonders what exactly he’s done.

* * *

He trains in unarmed combat with Mihail early in the morning. The two take advantage of the lack of eyes on them to fight in a more Duscis style. There is constant motion, even when no strikes are thrown, with the two of them moving side to side in a rhythmic beat. Dedue blocks a kick to his head, retaliating with a quick jab that Mihail avoids by cartwheeling out of the unstable stance his followthrough left him in. Dedue quickly pressed the advantage, sweeping Mihail’s legs out from under him and calmly pulling the mage’s arm behind his back. _“Cedesne?” (Do you yield?)_

Mihail tried to break free, grunting as Dedue simply held him still. _“Cedo. Vicit.” (I yield. You won.)_

Dedue let him go, and they both got up and got ready for another bout. Just as they start again, they hear the footsteps of Byleth’s boots as the teacher enters the training grounds. Dedue puts their entrance into the corner of his mind as he tries to sweep Mihail’s legs again, just for Mihail to jump over his kick and deliver a punch that lands in Dedue’s gut. It winds him for a second, just long enough for Mihail to deliver a strong kick to his side that knocks Dedue off center. Soon, Mihail is asking Dedue to yield, and the two get back up as Mihail is healing the both of them.

Dedue notices that Byleth has walked over to them as they took a break and waves. “Good morning, Professor.”

“Morning, Dedue.” There’s a small pause, it’s barely noticeable, before Byleth also nods at the shorter Duscis. “Mihail. Care if we all spar with brawling and magic?”

Mihail shrugs his shoulders. “I am fine if Dedue is.”

Dedue simply nods, settling back into a stance that better fit what he learned in the Officer’s Academy. Mihail steps back from the two, holding his arms up to prepare for spellcasting. Byleth readies themselves for a brief moment before they launch a small bead of fire at Dedue. Dedue rolled to avoid it, placing a hand on the ground and pushing up the ground that Byleth stood on in order to try and disrupt them. The pillar was struck by a bolt of lightning as Mihail’s spell went off. Dedue forces the pillar back down into the ground and runs forward, engaging with Byleth. He and Mihail barely share a glance before they start fighting together, covering each other’s weak spots and slowly pushing Byleth backwards.

Byleth called off the spar and nodded at the two of them. “Good job. Nice fighting.”

“Thanks,” the two of them say at the same time. Dedue’s stomach growls, and Mihail starts chuckling as the two leave the training yard and start to get ready for the day.

* * *

Annette sits with them during breakfast. She waves and smiles at them as she starts to tuck into her breakfast. There’s polite chatter between the three of them, mostly about food and magic before Mihail is whisked away by Lysithea and Lorenz, leaving Annette and Dedue alone.

The seat he was in is barely cold before Gilbert walks into the dining hall and takes a seat next to Annette. The girl looks confused. “What’s wrong Father? I didn’t expect you to come visit me.”

Gilbert looks awkward. He reaches into a small bag and pulls out a small wooden doll. “I carved this on a whim,” he explains, holding it out. “I wish for you to take it, Annette.”

Annette lets out a tiny squeal as she takes the doll and looks at it. Dedue is silent as he tries to take in the details of the statue. “A wooden doll? You used to make these for me when I was a child.”

Gilbert sighs. “I still do it.” The knight falters under his daughter’s glance at him. “When the mood strikes.”

“It’s so cute!” Annette says, putting it down on the table. “It’s-” She cuts herself off. She glances at Dedue before she stares at Gilbert. “Wait. No. What do you want from me?”

Gilbert sits there for a while. “I want nothing,” he says, and Dedue does not like that answer at all. “I was carving and I thought of you. I’m glad that the Goddess has answered my prayers to see you again.”

“I’m glad to see you too,” Annette says, looking back at the statue. “Are you going to send a letter to Mother to wish her well? She’d love to hear from you.”

“I cannot.” Gilbert looks down at the table. “I still must atone for my sins.”

Dedue should not cut into this. This is not his time. But the situation is too familiar-

“What sins are you atoning for?” He says, opening up the conversation into a dangerous crevice.

“I was unable to protect the king,” Gilbert says, as if it makes the most sense. “That is the ultimate failure. One that I must atone for.”

“You weren’t even there,” Annette says, and her voice is heavier. “You were just about to reach our house before you disappeared.”

“My happiness would do nothing to atone for the dead,” Gilbert argues, still not looking up from the table. “My arrival here in the monastery and my prayers are the only way to help the poor souls-”

Dedue catches onto the issue. “Your prayers are mere self-indulgence.”

Gilbert looks up, and there’s a slight sign of irritation. “You do not understand.”

“No, I do not,” Dedue admits. “Faerghus needed you. Your wife needed you-”

“I needed you,” Annette whispers, still looking at the statue.

Gilbert seems torn at who to talk to, looking back and forth between the two students. He makes eye contact with Dedue. “There was no other choice but for me to leave,” He argues. “ What would you do if His Highness had died due to your failures?”

Dedue almost wants to toss the man back on the ground the same way he did Felix. “I would live. Live for my home, my family, my friends, and my life. Honor their memories by still living and walking.”

Gilbert is quiet. Dedue thinks of all he’s heard about the man. How he excels in bravery and wisdom and tactics, and how he was ideal in chivalry and behavior. They seemed like glowing reviews when he was 14 and Dimitri was gushing about the man, but now…

“I am simply lost and irredeemable right now,” Gilbert says, standing up and nodding at Dedue. “My happiness isn’t something that should exist.” He turns to face Annette, who barely looks up to glance at her father. “If you don’t need the statue, you can throw it away. It is all the same in the end.”

He walks away, and Dedue waits a moment before reaching out and patting Annette’s shoulder. “Are you alright?”

Annette lets out a quiet sniffle. “He’s probably right. It would be better to throw this doll away.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, do you want to throw it away?” Dedue asks softly.

There is a weak smile on Annette’s face. “I don’t think I could ever throw it away,” she admits as she puts it in her bag. “Should we go to class?”

Dedue puts a small smile on his face, thinking about the small orange flower that has been slightly wilted ever since it was planted. “If you promise to help me with any Reason questions.”

Annette giggles. “I will! I’ve been wanting to sit next to you for a while, you have really neat handwriting.”

“Thank you,” Dedue says, simply picking up his things and walking with Annette to the Blue Lions classroom.

* * *

“You know, Dedue,” Byleth starts as they’re taking a break from sparring during class. Dedue doesn’t look away from Sylvain and Felix engaging with Dimitri. “You don’t spar like you did with Mihail that morning.”

He hums, noncommittally answering the professors question. “Should I be?”

“It seems like you’re more comfortable with it,” they note. Felix blocks a swing from Dimitri and Sylvain taps the prince’s thigh with his lance. “It seems you’re faster and more sure of your strikes.”

“Thank you,” Dedue says with a nod. “But I don’t want to shake the ground too much.”

Ingrid enters the training hall right before Byleth can ask him what he meant by that. He hears them let out a soft, “Oh,” before a few more quiet moments. “Well, try it,” they say out of the blue, “I can make sure that no one will bother you for it.”

Dedue turns to face Byleth, looking at their contemplative face. “Thank you. Should I spar now?”

“Do you want to spar against Ingrid or Sylvain?”

“Sylvain,” Dedue answers immediately. He’s spent a week avoiding Ingrid and he would love to keep that up.

Byleth nods before calling off the spar on the ground. It takes a few moments, but soon Felix and Ashe, Dimitri and Ingrid, and Dedue and Sylvain are all in position, and with a whistle, the spars start.

Sylvain twirls his lance before he thrusts it out at Dedue, who sidesteps it and falls into the rocking rhythm of _honestum_. Sylvain’s confusion leaves him open enough for Dedue to land two quick strikes before the third is blocked by the shaft of the lance. Dedue makes eye contact with the redhead, who’s staring at him. “So, this is new.”

Dedue subtly shifts his weight, keeping his left forearm against the lance. “It is.”

“Have any more tricks?” Sylvain asks with a smirk, starting to pull back his lance. Dedue felt a smile creep onto his face just before he twisted his body, delivering a spinning kick to the older student’s chest. Sylvain grunted as he backed up, rubbing his sternum. 

Dedue fell back into his flow. “A few.” He watched as Sylvain’s eyes tracked him, and there was a glint as the noble realized the inherent rhythm of it all.

“Nice.” That was the only word said before Sylvain stepped forward and swiped at him with a long sweeping arc. Dedue took the blow and shifted forward, getting past the tip of the lance and right in front of the redhead, getting in a few light taps before Sylvain used the butt of the lance to drive him back. Dedue focused on the tip of the lance, and as soon as it began to arc towards his right again, he shifted his rhythm slightly, adding an extra step in the three step cycle to both throw Sylvain off and allow himself to squat under the attack. As Sylvain was stuck in the followthrough, Dedue stood back up with a light uppercut and jab to the shoulder. He barely stepped on his back foot before he launched forward, landing two more punches before gliding back into his rhythm.

Sylvain backed up, rotating his shoulder to take stock of himself for a few moments. He steps back into the fight with what looks like a jab, and as Dedue naturally sidesteps it, he watches as the lance actually pulls to the left. _Causa Telli-_

The lance finds purchase in his gut. It doesn’t wind him, but with the small whoop he hears from Sylvain, he knows that the tempo of this fight just changed. But that’s fine. If Sylvain wants to change things up, maybe he could do the same.

The redhead seemed to notice the flick of his wrist, ducking under Dedue’s fist and blocking the small pillar of stone that Dedue shaped to trip him up. The retaliating strike makes sense, and Dedue backs up to give himself breathing room before Sylvain runs forward, throwing his lance at Dedue. Dedue catches the lance before he feels an untrained punch land on his chest.

Sylvain hissed as he shakes his hand out. “Ouch! How do you feel like a wall?”

Dedue steps out of his battle stance. “You don’t know how to throw a punch.”

Sylvain rolls his eyes as he walks over to his nearby bag, pulling out a vulnerary. “What gave it away, my injury?”

“I’ve never seen you in a brawling lesson.”

“That too, probably.” Sylvain takes a long swig from the healing potion, and the two of them look across the training yard. “Huh, I guess the professor decided that Dimitri needed even more of a challenge.”

Dedue’s eyes widen as he realizes that Ashe, Annette, and Mihail are going against Dimitri and Mercedes. Ashe and Annette are the main attackers, and Mihail seems to be supporting them well, getting in small beads of dark magic to try and disrupt the opposing duo. Mercedes switches between attacking and supporting, calmly stepping out of the way of Ashe’s arrows. Annette is trying her hardest to blow Dimitri away, and if it weren’t for the blond’s strength and the tip of the lance burying into the stone every now and then, she probably would have succeeded. Ashe is a master at taking opportunities, landing training arrows by launching them in directions that the duo dodge to. Dimitri is still powerful, and his lance practically flashes in between all three opponents. Whenever Mercedes attacks, she seems to be capable enough to place her spells in the right spot so that even if they don’t hit, they blind or distract Ashe enough to make his arrows a little bit more unreliable as the magic of his teammates barely affects her.

“That’s a rather violent training bout,” Dedue says, watching as it slowly starts to come to a standstill as everyone starts to become tired.

“I don’t think we get to talk about violent sparring anymore,” Sylvain jokes. “Not after you tried to take my ankle out with that pillar. How do you do that? What’s the arcane math you’re doing?”

Dedue looks at the redhead who’s giving him a curious glare. “It’s not arcane. The best way to describe it is divine.”

“Oh,” Sylvain’s shoulder’s slump, “it’s a Duscur thing.”

Dedue patted him on the shoulder. “Sorry about that.” He’s not sorry at all. “You did a good job when you tricked me with that swing.”

“Tried my best. It was nothing,” Sylvain says, although the way he lights up as he speaks lets Dedue know he’s lying.

He’s distracted from his thoughts as Ashe runs up to them, bow in hand. “Hey! The professor just told us we could break for lunch and a good portion of the house is going to eat with each other, want to join us?”

Sylvain has a smug grin on his face as he nods, and Dedue rolls his eyes at how quickly he seems to fall back into his persona. “I would love to,” He says, reaching down and picking up his own bag. “Let’s meet in front of the dining hall in a few minutes.”

* * *

It feels like Dedue has barely closed his door and tended to his personal batch of ginger plants as they rested in the flowerpot before there’s an insistent knocking. He sighs, thanks Terra that he didn’t start changing out of his uniform for the day, and goes to open up the door and see what Sylvain (the red flower was slightly droopy today), Ashe (the silver and brown flower had an air of anger around it), or Annette (the orange flower had somehow propagated a sad little clone of itself) needed to talk to about.

He was not expecting the entirety of the Black Eagle house in front of him. Even Bernadetta is there, hiding behind Dorothea. He quickly looks over the group before nodding. “Hello”

Edelgard steps forward, nodding back. “Greetings. We want to talk to you. Mind if we come in?”

Dedue takes a moment to look at the future emperor. She seems serious, focused, prepared for almost any answer he could give. When he tries to get a reading of the ground that they stand on, the group seems somewhat nervous, but mostly actively involved, if the tremors from Bernadetta’s shaking and the absolute stillness from Linhardt somehow asleep by the wall meant anything.

Dedue stepped back and opened his door fully, allowing free passage into his room. “Sure. Please, come in. If anyone wants some tea, I have a ginger root freshly cut.”

The house pours into the room, and Dedue keeps an eye on all of them as they fall into different places. Linhardt wakes themselves up just to get into his bed and fall asleep again, with Caspar and Petra on either side of them. Bernadetta is directly next to the door just in case she wants to flee. Edelgard and Dorothea take the chairs, with Hubert and Ferdinand standing behind them. Ferdinand has an ornate teacup that certainly is not Dedue’s in his hand, and is already working with the hot stone that Dedue uses to heat up water. Dedue sighs, walks to the middle of his room, and takes a seat on the floor, still able to view everyone quite easily. “So, what is this visit about?”

Edelgard leans forward in her chair with the grace of an emperor on their throne. “Hubert and I have been discussing some ideas for the Empire when I take my place at it’s head, and we as a house have a few questions we want to ask you outside of any prying ears.”

Dedue nods. “What kind of questions are these?”

“Questions that you will be able to refuse if you want to,” Edelgard answers calmly. “I have some things in my own past that I do not like to dwell on, so if you wish not to answer a question, simply say so and we will move on.” She aims the last part of her sentence at her fellow housemates. “Of course, I assume you will have some questions for us to answer as well.”

Dedue holds back a chuckle. There are so many questions he has to ask about the empire and this meeting that he could probably continue until _solis et luna_ stopped chasing each other. “Of course. How do you feel about trading a question for a question?”

“And if one refuses?”

There’s a small hum of nerves under his skin as the pleasantries start to seem drawn out. “We can figure that out if it happens. Please, ask your first question.”

Edelgard nods, keeping eye contact with him as she speaks. “How would you describe your connection to Dimitri?”

Dedue looks down for a few moments, calmly feeling to see if there were any odd signs in the hallway around his room. “It is complicated,” he answered when he could find none, now somewhat confident that this wasn’t a scheme by Edelgard for whatever reasons she may have. However- “I do not believe it is wise for me to go into further detail, but know that I carry no animosity towards His Highness.” It’s not necessarily a lie, as Dedue doesn’t hate Dimitri, but Dimitri is starting to become more and more of a self-unaware hindrance. “Why did you all feel it was necessary to try and have a conversation this way?”

“Uh, because we all saw what happened during that feast?” Caspar says, as if it makes perfect sense. “We don’t want to make tensions worse between you guys, but we really don’t like how some people seem to get away with that much.”

“It is ridiculous how those two acted, utterly ridiculous,” Ferdinand gripes as he finishes pouring out some tea. “They truly do not understand how to act like knights nor nobles, do they?”

Dedue isn’t sure if that counts as the house’s question, but by the indignant eyebrow raised on Hubert’s face and the resigned sigh of Edelgard, he takes it to be. He takes a few moments to think about if he actually wants to respond to this question, one that moves away from politics and towards the underlying structures of the Blue Lions. “I wouldn’t know how Faerghus thinks about knighthood and chivalry,” he says. A clear lie. A refusal to answer. “But if you asked me something else, maybe I would know that.”

“Thank you,” Hubert says, pushing up Ferdinand’s arm so that the redhead is sipping his teacup. “How likely would you be to switch houses?”

That’s a fissure of a question. Everyone was aware that they could change houses, but no one actually did it, worried about whatever implications that could mean about the teachers in students in their former house. Honestly, Dedue could not see himself leaving the Blue Lions at all, but thinking about it now changed his reasons why. Earlier, he felt himself in debt to Dimitri and to help Mihail advocate for Duscur. Now, there’s less of that debt, but more of the want to keep an eye on Mihail, Ashe, Annette, and Sylvain and make sure that they are all fine and able to deal with the worst of Faerghus and Fodlan culture. “It would depend on the circumstances,” he answers honestly, aware enough of himself to know that in the right circumstances to know that if he really needed to, he would definitely take Mihail and head into another house if he had to. “Why are you asking?”

“Edelgard wanted to talk with you about Duscur and Empire alliances,” Petra says, laying down on her stomach at the foot of the bed. “I can not say that she will be aware of every issue that Duscur may have with the idea, but currently, she and I have done good work for both of our nations.”

Dedue hums, nodding at the princess. She nods back. Dorothea clears her throat and Dedue looks at her as she asks her question. “Are you being blackmailed?”

“No,” Blackmail may be the wrong word to use, but Dedue is still going to try not to reveal too much about the house dynamics. “If you’re going to try and rebuild ties with Duscur, why aren’t you talking to Mihail? He’s technically the ambassador.”

“Claude and the Golden Deer seem to take up a lot of his time,” Edelgard says. “Besides, I don’t want to make him feel pressured at the thought of being in serious conversations with all three house leaders.”

“Thank you,” Dedue says, glad that someone else has done something for the younger Duscis.

Edelgard shifts in her chair. “It’s nothing to thank me for, truly. How is Mihail doing?”

“He’s alright. Between myself and the Golden Deer, it seems like any issue he has can be solved.” Dedue thinks back to the time when the eccentric house passed a message around the entirety of the dining hall just to pass back a glass of water. “Now,” Dedue leans forward, steepling his fingers, “why did you choose to talk to me?” 

“You- you’re nice!” Bernadetta manages to squeak out before going mute again.

Edelgard has a soft smile on her face. “What she means to say is we truly find it disturbing how the house seems to find it acceptable that you and Mihail are treated. Granted, it took us a while to learn the same lesson-”

Petra and Dorothea looked at each other and smirked.

“-but in thinking about what it would mean to rebuild the Empire, I think it makes sense to get an outside perspective of Fodlan,” Edelgard finishes, before taking a deep breath. “How does the political system work in Duscur?” 

Oh. That’s interesting. “It’s simple. Each area, town, or city has their own leader who helps keep things running in that place. Every few moons, each leader meets with the other leaders in their region: North, Central, Coastal, and Southern. Every 4th meeting that they have together, one of those leaders all meet up in Genus to touch bases and set the standards that our constitution allows them to set, which is mostly trading agreements and small budget points.” Dedue runs through the basics pretty easily, watching as Hubert was taking notes. “Why is this so important to you?”

“Because I want to make sure that the people are properly represented,” Edelgard says. “How are the leaders chosen?”

“Voting,” Dedue answers easily. “But they can be removed at any time with a majority. And before you ask, yes it has happened and no, no one regrets removing them from their position of power.”

Dorothea looks interested. Ferdinand looks pleased. Linhardt looks like they’re just waking up again.

Dedue finds that he has a few more questions to ask, but they’re more personal in nature. He sees Bernadetta creeping out of the room out of the corner of his eye and waits until the door closes behind her and he can feel her footsteps as she runs away before he asks his next question. “Is everything okay with Bernadetta’s home life? Forgive me for prying, but she reminds me a lot of an old friend who dealt with a lot.”

The entire house shares a look before Hubert answers the question. “The person responsible for Bernadetta’s demeanor will be dealt with shortly,” he says, and Dedue nods, not quite sure how that may manifest.

Dorothea raises her hand jokingly before talking. “What’s the reason that some of the leaders get removed?”

“They break a Duscis rule,” Dedue says simply. “In Duscur, we try to think of how our actions impact everyone, and so we look out for each other, help a person when we can, and remove those who may use their power to harm others. The old friend I was talking about was being mistreated by a leader in his area, so the leader was removed and my friend travelled to my village right outside of Silvae. How are you feeling, Edelgard?”

If the white-haired girl is thrown by the shift in conversation, she doesn’t show it. “I am quite well,” she says with a smile, “thank you for asking. Do you have any more questions?”

He does. But these are questions that may have answers he doesn’t want others to hear. “No. Thank you for the lovely conversation.”

The Black Eagles slowly get out of their spots, standing up and quietly making their way over to the door as they each say their own thanks and welcomes. Ferdinand asks him about his tea recipes and Dorothea pulls him out of the room before Dedue can answer. In nearly the blink of an eye, his room is empty again, and Dedue has to wonder what the purpose was in the well-oiled machine of the Black Eagles being his guests for a few minutes.

* * *

Dedue walks into the kitchen one afternoon to begin his scheduled dinner duty. As he’s washing up and tying an apron around his waist, he hears someone call his name and turns around to see Seteth and the head chef standing next to each other. “Dedue, you can cook, right?”

“I would consider myself proficient,” he says, wondering why the two were acting like this.

Seteth sighed. “Good. How do you feel about cooking a greater portion of the dinner today instead of only prepping?”

The head chef looks slightly paler than normal, and Dedue flinches as the man passes out, falling into Seteth’s arms. “Devian is not feeling too well, he apparently has an allergy that pops up near the winter months,” Seteth casually explains. “The kitchen will be working at a slightly diminished capacity, and I just wanted to ask you if you would help shoulder a bit more of the load.”

“Of course,” Dedue says, still concerned for Devian’s health. “Is there a certain item I should be cooking?”

“Feel free to make whatever you can,” Seteth says with a nod as he picks Devian up. “I would personally go for something simple that you can make a large amount of, as I believe the evening will need a few sizable platters.”

Dedue starts thinking about what to make, looking at the inventory list and making a note of what he needs to get from his room. “I will be sure to do so. Will you be able to help me?”

“I will try to come back and at least help you get started after I find Devian acquainted with a bed in the infirmary,” Seteth says, starting to walk away from the area. “The other chefs know that you are not to be bothered, but if any of them do, let me know when I return.”

Dedue nodded at the man as he left, finally putting a plan together. He looked out into the dining hall to see Raphael eating his “post-lunch, pre-dinner, pre-dessert snack” and knocked against the counter to get his attention. The fellow brawler stood up and calmly jogged over to the table. “Hey, dude, you have cooking duty today?”

“I do,” Dedue answers, pulling out a cutting board. “”How do you feel about hearty sandwiches?”

Raphael practically lights up. “I love them! I never even thought about having them for dinner.”

“Would you mind running to my room and grabbing a few bulbs off of each of the plants in the corner?” Dedue asks, grabbing a few loaves of bread. “That would be a great help.”

“As long as you save some for me and Iggy!” Raphael practically booms, before leaning over the counter, jokingly whispering, “And add a little extra meat to one of those sandwiches for me,” before bounding out of the hall, hopefully on his way to Dedue’s room.

Dedue shook his head and chuckled as he started cutting slices out of the loaves, taking care to make sure that they were even. He gets through two loaves before a small “Excuse me!” has him look up at Monica as she casually leans onto the counter. “Do you know where Mihail is? I want to ask him something.”

He finishes the slice he’s working on before he answers her. “No, but he’s probably either in the library or with Claude and Lorenz somewhere.”

Monica laughs. “Man, they sure are around each other a lot, huh?”

“You could say that,” Dedue says, grabbing the third loaf. “But you are usually with Edelgard and Hubert.”

“Yeah,” she says with a nervous laugh, “I guess so. Thanks for trying to help me!”

“You’re wel-” Dedue watches as she skips away, “-come.” He turns back around and continues prepping the food. Soon, Seteth is returning, and Dedue instructs the man to get him some meats and cheeses as he finishes getting his slices onto neat piles for later assembly.

As Seteth is gone trying to procure the ingredients, Raphael comes back with the bulbs of ginger, turmeric, cardamom, and paprika. Raphael nods at him as Dedue puts them off to the side, and Dedue nods back, already planning to make a few sandwiches with thicker cuts of meat to honor they’re deal. Raphael leaves and Seteth returns with 2 blocks of cheese and a diverse cut of meats. 

Seteth sighs as he puts the heavy basket down on the counter near the stove. “Is this enough for you to work with?”

Dedue looks over it all. Some of the meats were already cured, while he would have to make sure that the others were cooked enough to not only be safe to eat, but to make sure the flavor was potent. “This is fine. Thank you.”

“I’m glad to be of help,” Seteth says, with a slight nod. “Is there anything else I can do to help you?”

“You’ve already done enough,” Dedue says as he grabs a bowl, mortar, and pestle. “Although, I fear I must warn you that I last saw Flayn with Linhardt at the Officer’s Academy.”

Seteth sighs as he nods, turns and starts walking away. “I told Byleth that Hevring is the last person-”

Dedue watches the man leave the hall before he pours in a small bit of water into the bowl. He looks back down to start cutting and chopping his spices, grinding them down in the mortar and pestle before adding them to the water and stirring everything together. After everything was fully incorporated, he poured the mixture into a small pot and put it on medium heat to simmer and reduce while he worked with the meat and cheeses for his sandwiches.

He was a good portion of the way through the meats, counting out the current amount of slices he had, as he looked up and saw Ashe taking a seat at the counter. “Hello, Ashe.”

“Hey, Dedue,” Ashe says, lightly waving. “What’cha doing?”

Dedue looks back at the sauce and decides that it needs a bit more time. “Cooking. How are you?”

“I’m good,” Ashe answers. “I’ve been thinking about some stuff, and decided to get out of my room for a while.”

Dedue hums in acknowledgment, looking back at the meats in front of him.”If you’re not too busy, can I ask for your help?”

Ashe leaps off of his stool and walks around the counter to the sink, turning on the water in a few seconds. “What do you want me to do?”

“Can you help cut the cheese into slices?” Dedue asks, working on the thicker slices of meat. “If you want a good idea of what size they should be, the slices of bread are to the right of this station.”

A few moments pass before Ashe dries his hands and takes a quick glance over at the stacks of bread. “Ah. Do you want me to start assembling them too?”

“That would be nice.”

Ashe picks up a knife and a block of cheese and starts working. “Got it.” For a few moments, the two work in near silence, with the only sounds being the knives against the cutting board, the sound of the kitchen and dining hall around them, and the occasional questions and quality control chatter between the two of them. Dedue takes the reduction off of the stove and starts to prepare a pan to cook all of the meats he needs to cook. As he places the first slice of meat down on the oiled skillet, he prepares a second one for the few slices of fish he has, quickly getting that skillet in working order as well. Dedue doles out a small amount of the sauce into a different bowl and hands it off to Ashe, telling the archer to spread a little bit of it over each empty slice of bread.

As Dedue is finishing up with the meats that need to be cooked, he notices that Ashe is slowing down in his task. He takes the pan off of the heat and calmly takes the knife out of his hands. ”You finished cutting the last slice of cheese and were about to hit your fingers,” he explains when Ashe jumps and blushes. “Is everything alright?”

“Oh, yeah,” Ashe says, and Dedue raises an eyebrow and crosses his arms. Ashe’s smile strains before he sighs. “I’ve just been thinking a lot again.”

Dedue can understand that. “Am I allowed to ask what you’ve been thinking about?”

Ashe chuckles. “It’s mostly about two things,” he admits, placing a small dollop of sauce onto a piece of bread. “I was thinking about talking to Dimitri about increasing the budget for the health of the people.”

“That sounds like a worthy cause.”

“Thanks. I was afraid of it being selfish because I lost my parents to disease, but I was starting to think about all of the people who lived under Lonato,” Ashe says, and the top of his ears are red. “A lot of people were mostly trying to make sure that their family was healthy and safe.”

Dedue hums, placing the knife in the sink. “That doesn’t seem selfish,” He says lightly, turning to the small bags of rice he had placed aside earlier. “It sounds like you’re trying to help other families deal with an issue before it affects them in the same way it affected your family.”

He hears Ashe pause for a brief moment as he seems to take in Dedue’s words. “Thank you. That means a lot to me.”

Dedue nearly drops his bag of rice. “Really?”

“Yeah!” Ashe says enthusiastically. “You’re the closest representation to a knight I’ve known in my life! You’re kind, caring, smart, brave-” The two make eye contact as Ashe starts to ramble and the archer pauses. They remain like that for a few moments before Dedue turns away, praying that his face is dark enough to hide the heat rising to the surface of it.

He clears his throat, taking the knife and opening the bag of rice. “Thank you.”

“No problem,” Ashe says quietly. The two continue their tasks in a slightly embarrassed silence now, Dedue pouring the bag of rice into a clean pot and filling it with water. He puts in a decent amount of the paste and stirs it a bit before he puts it on the stove to cook, covering it with a lid.

He turns back to the sandwich prep station and starts completing the sandwiches, adding a slice of meat to what Ashe has already done before closing the entire thing with a firm press. The process moves by quickly, and soon Dedue is nearly done assembling the sandwiches when he realizes that Ashe took the rice off of the heat before it could be ruined. “Thank you.”

Ashe nods, still holding the pot. “You’re welcome. Where do you want me to put it?”

Dedue quickly traces a square on the surface of the stone, trying to create a warm area for the rice. “You can put it there,” he says, taking the last unassembled sandwich and putting a cut of fish in it. “Thank you for your help.”

“Are you sure you don’t need any more help?” Ashe asks as Dedue hears the sound of the pot hitting the stone. “I have time to spare.”

“I should be fine now,” Dedue says, finishing the sandwich. “If you want to come back early, you could probably get first choice before everyone else.”

Ashe sighs. ”Alright. I should probably study battle tactics for tomorrow anyway. I’ll see you in a bit!”

Dedue waves at Ashe as he leaves before picking up the platter of assembled sandwiches and turning to the stove. He took the skillet still coated with the rendered fat from the cooked meats and added a little bit of oil before he put in on the heat and placed the first sandwich in it to grill the bread and melt the cheese. 

As he worked to make sure that each sandwich was consistent in color and crisp, putting them onto a heated platter when he was done cooking them, he heard quiet footsteps from behind, and calmly tried to see if he could recognize the pattern of footsteps. “Hello, Petra.”

“Greetings, Dedue,” Petra answers back, a smile in her voice. “How are you doing?”

“I’m well. How are you?”

“I’m currently hiding from Ferdinand. We’re playing tag.”

Dedue flips the sandwich he’s currently grilling. “Are you winning?”

Petra laughs. “With some help,” she says, before suddenly humming to herself. Dedue turns around and just barely catches a glimpse of green before Petra leans forward onto the counter. “Ferdinand is next to the stables right now.”

Dedue smiles at her. “I think if you time it right, you could probably make your way up to the cathedral before he even reaches the marketplace.”

Petra seemed to think about it a bit before she stood up, waving at Dedue. “Thanks for the advice. I will take it. I hope I get to eat your cooking later.”

“I hope so too,” Dedue says, waving back at the girl as she quickly dashes out of the hall. Dedue goes through a few more sandwiches before Ferdinand shows up, sweaty and ragged. He finishes a few more sandwiches before Hubert enters the dining hall and forcibly drags the younger man out.

Dedue finishes cooking all of his sandwiches, and transfers the platter to the outward counter. As he picks up the knife and starts cutting them into triangles, he notices Byleth walk into the dining hall. The mercenary looks down at the task he’s currently doing. “Am I too late to help you cook?”

“If you want to help, you can find a larger platter for me to present this all on,” Dedue says, counting all of the sandwich triangles he has. Byleth nods and leaves for a few moments while Dedue continues on his task.

The professor returns with what has to be the biggest platter in the entire monastery. “Here you go,” they say, placing it onto the counter. 

Dedue nods. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Dedue spends some time starting to plate his sandwiches, creating a ring on the outside edge of the platter before starting a smaller ring inside of it. He was aware of Byleth’s presence still at the counter, so he looked up and raised an eyebrow. “Is everything alright?”

Byleth shrugged. “I was just wondering why you haven’t used anything from Duscur until now.”

There’s a short silence after the professor speaks where Dedue tries to figure out what they meant by that. “You’ve seen me use the earth before,” he says, getting back to his task, “so I’ve done it before.”

“Right,” Byleth says in a slightly embarrassed tone. “I meant why don’t you use them often.”

Dedue thought about his answer. “Well, you see how Ingrid and Felix react to anything Duscis. I’d rather not cause more tremors than what I would consider necessary.”

“Well,” Byleth starts, their tone inquisitive, “what inspires you to use them anyway?”

Thoughts of festivals and families fill Dedue’s head. With a startling realization, he thinks about how the sandwiches he’s currently holding are very close to the same ones he and Aura would make at around this time of year, just before winter started. “I- I presume it’s a way for me to honor my home,” he says slowly, letting the words sit on his tongue for a few moments. “I was talking with Mercedes and she said something that spoke to me.”

“Hm.” Byleth hums. Dedue finishes cutting and plating the sandwiches, grabbing the pot of rice kept warm, starting to spoon it into the space left in the center of the platter. “Interesting. Thank you for being honest.”

“You’re welcome,” Dedue says, making sure that no rice is being wasted. “Care for some food? I’m nearly done.”

“I’m good,” Byleth says, getting up from their seat. “I just wanted to talk to you for a bit.”

Dedue turns around and grabs the sauce, getting ready to pour it onto the rice. “I see. I assume I will see you in class tomorrow?”

Byleth nodded. “You will.” The two waved at each other before Byleth walked away. Dedue finished pouring the sauce, and after making the platter warm, he simply stepped back and looked at the meal for a few moments.

One of the monastery chefs glanced at it and made an approving hum. “Good job. You should probably get ready for the dining hour. I’ll clean up after you.”

Dedue thanks the man and takes off his apron to leave the kitchen. He has a few minutes to waste before the dining hall is officially open, so he checks his flowers at the greenhouse to see if anything has changed. Most of them are the same as they always have been, with only one flower having a noticeable change: a teal and light green flower that somehow represents Byleth is now suddenly turned to the green and black flower that represents Mihail.

What that was supposed to mean, Dedue doesn’t know.

During dinner, the sandwiches seem to be a hit. Dedue is glad he made enough food for enough people to be able to get seconds (and in Raphael and Ingrid’s case, thirds). There are a lot of compliments over the rice and paste, where soon Seteth calmly walks over and asks him if he would like to help cook dinners more often.

Ingrid and Felix do a double take and stare at their plates for a while. Sylvain takes the opportunity to pluck a sandwich off of Felix’s plate.

The meal gets a name at the end of dinner: “The Red Wolf Platter”.

* * *

In class, they learn that they’re mission for the Red Wolf Moon is to simply do a patrol shift for Remire Village. The entire house audibly sighs at how normal the mission is, relieved that it will be nothing too crazy like fighting in the caverns or fighting the other houses.

* * *

“Oh, that mission you guys got today?” Hapi says the moment they enter Abyss. “Not at all a normal mission.”

Mihail’s eyebrow raises. _“Dicesne quid?” (What did you say?)_

Hapi rolls her eyes. _“Non erit bene.” (It isn’t good.)_

Of course it isn’t. Fodlan wouldn’t be nice enough to let them have one normal month. The three of them share a look between them all before they all make their way to the other Duscis. Dedue has to do a double take when they arrive at the training area and he sees Ashe sitting on Cibor’s shoulders as he’s firing arrows. “Uh-”

“Don’t ask,” Towen said, calmly looking and keeping a close eye on the two, “Ashe wanted the practice and Cibor- well, you know how Cibor works.”

“Ah.” Dedue nods. “How are they doing?”

“They’re doing well,” Towen admits, tossing a small target in the air, downrange. An arrow pierced it at the top of its arc. “It could be worse. Cibor hasn’t dropped him. It looks like they’re having fun. Wanna toss a target?”

Dedue takes the target presented to him and tosses it out, further than the Resiti had. Ashe’s arrow nicks it, causing it to shatter. Ashe and Cibor cheer for a few moments before Ashe gets off the brawler’s shoulders. “That was a really cool idea,” the archer says, hanging his bow over his shoulder. “Although I think it would work better with a taller person-”

“Hey, it worked really well with me,” Cibor says, laughing as he reached down to grab his gauntlets. “If you ever want to try it again-”

“You’ll let me know first,” Towen interrupts, clapping their hands together. “Cibor still owes me a few training bouts. Ashe, I’m pretty sure that Dedue can keep you company.”

Ashe nodded. Towen drew their sword and walked off to face Cibor. Dedue calmly stood where he was until the archer jogged over to him. _“Salve.”_

Dedue blinks as he registers what Ashe said, “Has someone been teaching you Duscis?”

Ashe blushed. “Um, not exactly,” he admits sheepishly. “I just keep on hearing the rest of you all say it as a greeting to each other. Is it too personal?”

The two start walking towards the Duscis’ room. “No, it’s fine,” Dedue says with a smile. It’s more than fine. “If you want to, I can try to teach you more?”

“I would love to learn more,” Ashe says, a small smile on his face, “As long as it’s not crossing anything.”

“Well, the first thing about Duscis is how words change-”

* * *

Dedue opens the door to his room to see Lorenz standing there, holding a sheaf of parchment. The heir of Gloucester looks slightly nervous. “Do you mind if I ask for some advice?”

Dedue sighs internally and nods, opening the door to his room. As Lorenz takes a seat, Dedue pulls a stone out of the wall, focuses on a message to bring him some food for breakfast, and drops it out of the window so Mihail could get it. When he turns around to face his desk, he sees that the purple haired man has covered it in pieces of parchment that have many folds. “Is this another ritual?”

“What? No,” Lorenz answers, flustered. “Although I must ask you to promise that nothing said in this room is said to anyone else. If you want gold for your silence, I am willing to pay.” Lorenz sits up straight in the desk chair and puffs his chest out, trying to keep an air of confidence. “Now, you’re probably wondering why I’ve come to you for advice.”

“I am.”

“Well,” Lorenz’s false confidence crumbled like wet sand as he spoke, “I find myself in a dilemma. A few months ago, Mihail was researching the royal family of Almyra, and I decided to see if I could establish a link of diplomacy with one of the princes.”

Dedue nodded, taking a seat on his bed. “Alright. Did you accidentally insult him?”

Lorenz shook his head. “Oh, goddess no, I took foreign diplomacy lessons for too many years to make such a simple mistake. However-” Lorenz plucked off one of the letters and thrusted it out towards Dedue. “Just read this.”

Dedue takes the very creased paper, curious about what could be on it that would have the noble so out of sorts. He starts reading it.

_To My Dearest Rose of Gloucester,_

Dedue glances back up at Lorenz. “Dearest Rose of-”

Lorenz blushes heavily. “He’s apparently a very sentimental person,” he says in a low voice. “When I asked him about the title, he said that he was aware of the beauty of Gloucester flowers, but because I reached out to him, I had to be the best in the region.”

Dedue stares at the purple-haired student for a few more moments before looking back down at the letter with somewhat scratchy handwriting.

_I am glad that my last letter found you in such good health. I will admit, I was concerned when I heard that you were going to be in a battle at the end of the moon, but it sounds like you fought well, even if your house lost. Hopefully this Claude you talk about sees and respects that._

_Either way, I have been talking to my father about possibly sending an ambassador to meet with the Alliance. I may be in attendance, but as of right now, it doesn’t seem like it. If I am able to go, I would love to see you there so we could finally meet up._

“This letter seems fine,” Dedue says, looking up again. “You seem to have a healthy foundation with him.”

“Continue reading it,” Lorenz says, voice muffled through his hands.

_I have actually been thinking about how it would be like when we meet for the first time. I know you sent me a small portrait of yourself, but I still find myself wondering if the artist accurately captured every detail. My artist certainly didn’t._

_I wonder how you’ll react to the sight of me. I am… aware of how Fodlan seems to view different potential partnerships, and your specific situation. I still have to give you my two options, travel to Dagda or allow me to show you Almyra in person. I honestly pray that if you do join me on my native lands, you could enjoy a great range of things here._

_In any case, Lorenz, I eagerly await your next letter. We honestly must write to each other more, I find myself either bored or stressed in my circumstances. Your letters are a breath of fresh air every time I see them. Hopefully, the case I’ve sent you is still in working order. Please let me know if it isn’t so I can see if there’s a way to send you a new one._

_Sincerely,_

_Khalid Kayvon, 3rd prince to the Almyran throne._

Dedue looks up, holding the letter back out. “So, you and this prince,” he says, just to sift through the silence. “Khalid. He seems to enjoy your writing.”

“He does,” Lorenz says with a nod. “He’s obviously of good taste.”

“So what do you want advice about?” Dedue asks.

Lorenz clasps his hands together, looking up, but avoiding Dedue’s gaze. “How does marriage work in Duscur? From what I can guess from Mihail’s demeanor, people seem to marry less for title, or politics, or money. So, what do they marry for?”

Dedue looks at Lorenz for a few seconds. “As long as two people want to, they can go to a trusted elder and be declared married. There’s a good amount of tradition that happens beforehand usually, but the act of marrying someone is more of a formality of their declaration.”

“Declaration?” Lorenz asks. “Of what?”

“Love. Adoration.” 

Lorenz looks uncomfortable. “So, I guess some people just never married.”

Dedue nods. “Some just didn’t want to marry. Being married doesn’t carry any weight in Duscur, it’s just something to celebrate and cherish when you can.”

“So I assume there were a lot of happy men and women married to each other, with others happily single?”

“There were many happy partnerships. My parents were married, Mihail’s parents were married, Adrista’s mothers were married-”

Lorenz’s eyes widened. “Mothers?” he asked. “But I thought it was a man and woman-

“Two people. As long as they were adults, in love, and healthy for each other, they usually got married.” Dedue says, seeing the idea fully plant itself in Lorenz’s head.

“Hm. How interesting,” Lorenz says after a few moments.

Dedue silently wonders what’s taking Mihail so long. “Do you mind if I ask why you aren’t talking to Mihail about this?”

Lorenz’s blush seems to grow worse. “Well, you see,” he stammers, looking around the room again, “as you know, I am the only heir of House Gloucester. And I have a duty to be the best heir I can be. My father would love to have a grandchild, especially one with less-” Lorenz cuts himself off with a sigh and stares directly at Dedue. “What I am about to say next is very personal.”

Dedue understands what’s implied. “Of course.”

“My father would like an heir with less Dagdan blood,” Lorenz admits, staring down at the floor. “He told that it may take a few children and generations, but-”

“Wait,” Dedue interrupts, “your father told you that you have to have kids so that they can be more Fodlan?”

Lorenz sighs. “It’s more complicated than that, but that is the summary of it all. House Gloucester is nearly on the collapse because of some of my father’s actions, so the burden falls-”

“Onto him. He should fix it.”

“That’s not how Alliance politics works.”

Dedue sighs. “Alright, we can talk about this later. What does this have to do with Mihail?”

Lorenz is quiet for a few moments. “Over the past few moons, I have found myself writing more and more poetry,” he says, and Dedue can believe that Lorenz writes poetry in his free time. “And more and more, I find that the poetry centers itself around one of three people.”

Dedue has an idea of where this is going. “Am I wrong to guess that Khalid is one of those people?”

Lorenz cringes. “Much to my constant surprise, you wouldn’t be. Mihail is another. Claude is the third.”

Dedue remembers what Lorenz just said about having children. He knows enough about noble politics to know that it really means to have a legitimate heir. And under those standards, Lorenz seems to be trapped by a lack of attraction to anyone who isn’t male. “How does marriage work in Dagda?”

“It takes a while,” Lorenz admits after some silence. “My mother told me that it takes several moons or years to exchange letters, poems, and gifts before it actually starts. If you can arrange to see the same person for 7 nights, you are considered married.”

“So, should I be aware of late night meetings between you and Mihail?”

Lorenz nearly falls off his chair in shock. “No! I- I can’t believe the implication that I would move so fast, it’s unbefitting of my sta-” Lorenz stopped talking as Dedue started chuckling. At that moment the purple-haired student seemed to realize how red his face was. “Ah, you were joking.”

  
  


“Somewhat,” Dedue admits, quieting down now. “But in all seriousness, what do you want?”

“I don’t know,” Lorenz says, in a quiet, nearly steady voice. “I want to tell them- all three of them- how I feel. But I don’t know how they will react, or how to balance that with my duties as the heir of Gloucester.”

Dedue reaches out and places a comforting hand on Lorenz’s shoulder. “Just spend time with them for now,” he advises. “If you can figure out more, make a decision from there.”

“And if I can’t?”

Dedue looks at Lorenz. “You can still make the decision. And if you don’t, at least you’ve spent time with those you love. Never take that for granted.”

Lorenz nods. “Thank you,” he says, standing up and making his way towards the door.

Dedue clears his throat. “Lorenz?”

The heir stops right before he opens the door.

“Please don’t hurt Mihail,” Dedue warns him. “I wouldn’t consider myself responsible for whatever happens afterwards.”

Lorenz’s eyes widen. “Ah. I understand.”

“I’m glad you do.”

Lorenz opens the door and walks out. After a few moments, Mihail enters the room with a plate of food. He looks slightly disheveled and Dedue immediately puts the plate onto his clear desk and looks over his friend. _“Esne bene?” (Are you well?)_

_“Sum bene,”_ Mihail says, rolling his eyes. _“Nunc, Ingrid et Felix estis prava.” (I’m <fine>. Ingrid and Felix are vicious right now.) _

Dedue sighs, stepping back and taking a bite out of the porridge. This could be brought to Seteth’s attention later. Right now he’s going to take his own advice and spend time with Mihail.

* * *

During a break, Dedue watches as Ashe approaches the table where he and Dimitri sit at, holding a folder. “Your Highness-”

“Please, Ashe, call me Dimitri,” the prince casually interrupts with a smile.

Ashe looks flustered. “Of course, Dimitri. Um, I was looking through some of the letters and things I had from Lonato, and I found a copy of the records of past royal meetings.”

“Oh?” Dimitri seems surprised. “That’s good. I’m glad you have something to remember him by.”

Ashe took a deep breath. Dedue takes a closer look at him and sees that his hands are clutching onto the folder with a very tight grip. “Well,” he says before clearing his throat, “I was looking at the minutes of the meeting where he brought up the plan to add more gold to health services, and it looks like it was never even remarked upon.”

Dimitri’s smile seemed to dim. “Ah. Ashe-”

“Why wasn’t it talked about, Dimitri?” Ashe asks, placing the crumpled minutes onto the table. Dedue looks at it to see the visibly blank space next to Lonato’s proposal. “Was it even looked at?”

Dedue personally wasn’t paying that much attention to any of the meetings, but from the look on Dimitri’s face, it does not look like it was even thought about. “We already had most of the budget going to the knights at that point,” he says with an apologetic look on his face, “so we decided to table every other budget proposal for a later meeting.”

Ashe looks hurt. “Did you ever get to it?”

“I don’t think we did,” Dimitri says with a shake of his head. “I’m sorry that Lonato’s last proposal was never heard-”

“It’s not about Lonato,” Ashe says, voice flat and measured. Dedue can see his arms shaking as he leans on the table and stares at Dimitri. “Why? Why do the knights get so much money, and the people get so little?”

Dimitri leans back a little bit. “The knights are necessary to stop bandits, robbers, thieves, and other criminals. Besides,” he also pulled back his textbook as he was speaking, “it’s not chivalrous to just be handed money. You have to work for it.”

Ashe’s eyes narrowed. “Dimitri,” he starts, voice low and even, “when my parents died due to disease that was probably treatable, there was no work. There was no work in the whole village because most of the people had died. How was I supposed to get the money to live without stealing?”

Dimitri was rattled. He stammered, trying to figure out what to say. Byleth entered the classroom and called the house back to order. Ashe took a deep breath, picked up his things, nodded at Dedue and walked back to his table with Annette.

* * *

Dedue is busy cooking for dinner when Mercedes enters the cooking area, washing her hands and putting on an apron. They both end up putting their food in different ovens at the same time and start cleaning up as it cooks. A mug of tea is placed in front of Dedue when he finishes, and he takes it with thanks.

“It’s no issue,” Mercedes says, sipping her own tea. “I was just thinking about that conversation we had moons ago, about Duscur’s gods.”

Dedue has faint memories of it, but he does remember how open the woman was to learning about his culture. “I remember that.”

“I was wondering if there were any books about Duscur in the library, and I couldn’t find any,” Mercedes admitted with a sad look on her face. “If it isn’t too much to ask for, could you tell me the story of how Duscur was made?”

Dedue nearly answers before the smell of baking goods hit his nose. His eyes narrow on the oven where Mercedes was at. “I will if you can share the recipe for what you’re baking,” he says, feeling his stomach suddenly empty itself.

“Of course!” Mercedes agrees, giggling. The two take seats at the counter as she pulls out a piece of parchment with writing on it. “I would love to share this with you.”

She quickly copies down the recipe and hands it to Dedue. Dedue scans over it quickly and feels his mouth water at the idea of these cupcakes. “Thank you,” he says instead, putting the recipe in his bag. “Now, the story of how Duscur was formed begins with _Caelum_ , the deity of the sky, and _Tellus_ , the god of the earth,” Dedue explains. “Sometimes, _Tellus_ is called _Terra_ , and even though the gender is different, they’re still the earth deity. I might switch between the two without warning.”

Mercedes hums. “Thank you for telling me that. Is it alright for me to simply say the sky and the earth?”

“It is,” Dedue answers. “Either way, the two met on the ground, spending three moons with each other. One day, they ran across a problem and both of them had different solutions. _Caelum_ wanted to move to a different area to solve the problem, while _Terra_ wanted to stay and dig deeper to solve the problem. So, they fought.”

“They fought?”

“It was more of an argument, but the point was that they were not compromising with each other,” Dedue says, taking a sip of his drink before continuing. “With the two of them arguing, every other god fell into either side. Soon, there was a small amount of chaos that continued to rage until it sparked the Rising Flame.”

“The Rising Flame,” Mercedes repeats. “Is that Duscur’s version of The Goddess?”

“No, _Ignis Orins_ is more like the deity of Duscur,” Dedue explains. “We have a festival on the full moon of every winter month to celebrate the time _Caelum_ and _Tellus_ spent together before the birth of Duscur, specifically as a reminder to stay and work together instead of squabbling.”

“It sounds like squabbling did you well,” Mercedes says. “If it built your nation.”

“It was a lucky draw,” Dedue jokes, and the two start laughing. The conversation moves on to small talk until the food finishes cooking.

* * *

On the 21st morning of the Red Wolf Moon, Dedue woke up earlier than usual. After he got ready, he quickly made his way upstairs to Mihail’s room, quietly opening the door and sneaking inside.

Mihail looks up at him from where he sat on the bed. There’s a smug grin on his face as Dedue groans in disappointment. _“Sum magnus,”_ Mihail says, laughing at the situation. _(I’m great.)_

_“Multos annos, fuisti magnus semper,”_ Dedue says, shaking his head. He held out the small package of tea leaves and herbs he had grown earlier. _“Dies felix natalis.” (For years, you’ve always been great. Happy birthday.)_

Mihail took the package, holding onto it for a few minutes. It smelled softly of ocean air and spices, what Mihail’s house in Genus was like when they were kids. Neither of them spoke for a few moments. _“Do gratias tibi, Dedue.” (I give you my thanks, Dedue.)_

Dedue simply nods and allows himself to be pulled into a hug. _“Gaudeo, habens gratias tuum, frater meus.” (I rejoice <at> holding your thanks, my brother.) _

The two sit there for a while until Mihail’s stomach grumbles. As the now 18-year old kicks him out of the room, Dedue catches a glimpse of new items on his desk: a royal purple tea set and a tiny wooden box with a foreign script carved into it. It feels oddly familiar, and as Dedue walks down the hallway, he sees Claude standing outside of Lorenz’s room, leaning against the wall. Dedue waves at the house leader, and as he waves back, Dedue notices the ribbon around his wrist with that same script.

When he makes it back downstairs, Petra gives him a knowing smirk and a nod. Dedue feels a headache start to form at the realization of what’s actually happening in Lorenz’s dilemma. He nods back as Petra pats his shoulder in pity.

* * *

The Blue Lions are called to Remire Village one day earlier than expected. With Jeralt’s demeanor, Dedue is expecting a surprise bandit attack, or a potential revolt that would not be in the church’s best interests.

What he sees is a village on fire. What he sees are people running out of houses without everything they need. What he sees are people attacking and killing others.

It’s like he’s in Silvae again as the Murder of Duscur commenced. Gusts of wind fly by his head again as distress messages come in from other villages and areas as the Kingdom tears through them, his parents hide him and his sister in the forges, next to Bryn and Rius, Dedue peeks outside of the window to see Cibor trying to block a soldier from reaching Adrista-

“Hey,” Byleth says, suddenly in front of him. Startled, Dedue takes a step back. “Is everything alright?”

Right. He’s in Remire. He’s 19. He’s not being hunted down. “I’m better now,” he says, breaking eye contact to make sure that all of his items are in working order. “I apologize for the scare.”

Byleth nods. “Right,” they say, looking him up and down. “I think for this battle, you should probably support Dimitri. You two seem to be able to work well on tasks together.”

Dedue nods, and while pointedly not staring at the scene in front of him, he calmly makes his way over to the prince. He’s more focused on the ground to help guide him, but he clearly hears Dimitri grunting like he does whenever he has a migraine. He glances at the prince, concerned over how furrowed his eyebrows are. “Is everything okay, Dimitri?”

Dimitri gives him a pained grin that quickly vanishes into a very serious expression. “Don’t waste your time on me,” he says, looking over to Byleth as they had also stepped forward to keep an eye on the prince. “Saving the villagers is far more important. We don’t have time to waste.”

“How are we supposed to do that?” Mihail asks, staring at the village. “It’s chaos.”

“We’ll have to take up arms against the villagers who are rampaging,” Felix says, looking over his swords. “If we strike carefully, it should be possible to spare their lives.”

Mercedes looks concerned at the idea. “Isn’t there a more peaceful way to deal with this?”

Sadly, it seems like her pleas go ignored when Ingrid speaks up. “No matter how long it takes, we’ll need to check and rescue them all, one at a time.”

“Those who have gone mad may be victims themselves,” Ashe pointed out. “Is it possible to save them?”

Annette spoke as she wrung her hands together. “Well, saving the poor people who aren’t crazy is definitely our top priority!” She seemed anxious, ready to start casting spells. “Let’s get on with it!”

Sylvain calmly steps in between the huddle, signaling for everyone to stop quickly. “Hold on, it won’t do anyone any good if we panic and get injured ourselves.”

As the group takes a few moments to recollect themselves, Dedue looks back at the village, the sounds of chaos slowly fading away till he could no longer hear it. He looks over small patches of flames and crumbled walls, up a somewhat steep hill where at the top-

He turns back to face the group. “Everyone, those people on the hill don’t look like they’re in danger,” he says hurriedly. “They look like they’re watching the chaos.”

The group swiftly reacts in equal amounts of disgust and revulsion at the idea. Dimitri looks far more attentive now. “Are they the ones responsible for this madness?” The prince asks, and Dedue feels a shiver run down his spine at how dark Dimitri’s tone is. “If so, it’s clear what must be done.”

Byleth, somehow has a bored and questioning look on their face. “And what is that?”

“Kill them all,” Dimitri says, grabbing his lance. “Don’t let a single one of them escape. Sever their limbs and crush their wicked skulls!”

Everyone in the group was silent. Dimitri simply walked away with the perfect steps of a soldier ready to engage in warfare. Dedue looked over at Byleth, who looked the tiniest bit nervous before they signalled for him to follow the prince. With a blessing from Annette, he and his battalion are able to catch up to Dimitri at the same time as Dimitri’s lance cuts into a crazed villager.

Fighting with Dimitri now is terrifying. His lance sings with the speed of the blade before it cuts into whatever target is in front of him. Dedue finds himself only engaging in combat if there is more than one erratic villager, and he tries to only dispatch them. Dimitri seems to be taking his words seriously, aiming mostly for the chest or the skull with every thrust of the lance. The tip of the spear falls off, and Dimitri whacks an enemy across the head with the wooden shaft before he tosses it off to the side and unstraps a second weapon to fight with.

It feels like 5 seconds and five years have passed when they get to the bottom of the hill, and climbing it takes another few moments before they’re face to face with-

“Tomas?” Mihail asks, right behind Dedue. The shock of such a familiar face has Dedue off balance for a few moments as he stares at the librarian.

Dimitri doesn’t say a word, but he also doesn’t move forward. Dedue can’t see his face, but the prince looks like he’s frozen in place.

Tomas looks ecstatic. “I’m not Tomas,” he remarks, and Dedue can hear that the sounds of battle have suddenly stopped, as if all of the rampaging villagers stopped rampaging. “My name is Solon, the savior of all!” 

There’s a rush of dark magic that covers the librarian before it fades away, revealing something that was not quite human. “What’s the matter? So shocked you can’t even speak?” Solon asked, taunting them. “You were so easily fooled by my disguise. It was all too easy to hide away in Garreg Mach to get the blood of that little girl called Flayn and check up on past endeavors-”

There was a sharp gasp behind Dedue that could have only come from Mihail. Dedue’s eyes narrowed at the odd man in front of him.

“With that done, we’ll be one step closer to realizing our goal.”

“And you’ll be one step closer to the grave when my lance pierces your throat,” Dimitri states, taking one step closer to the man.

Solon laughs. “They charge in without any plan whatsoever,” he crows, turning his head back and forth as if to relish and drink in all of the chaos he caused. “Beasts, the lot of them.” He holds up a fist, and it sparks with dark energy. “Unfortunately, the experiment is over,” he says, smirking as he opens his hand and dark magic shoots out past them, into the village.

There are many screams, and Dedue can hear the villagers calling out for help, the shouts of his classmates trying to reach them, the shouts of the corrupted villagers as they still snarl and attack. Everyone on the hill seems held in place with either fear or glee as the sounds continue, until they all die out, and Solon’s smile grows wider.

Dimitri takes another step forward, but remains silent. The lance point wavers until it doesn’t, and Dimitri runs forward with a battle cry of, “I will cut you to shreds!”

Solon warps away before Dimitri can strike him. The prince’s lance ends up biting into and cutting through a tree stump. Dedue feels Mihail’s hand worm itself inside of his own and he squeezes gently in solidarity.

Byleth is out of breath when they run up the hill to join them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dedue x The Black Eagles. I actually find this to be a really interesting team up, as the personalities of the BE just kind of fit together weirdly. Dorothea and Dedue's friendship is one of the greatest things to write, as I find that they're pretty honest with each other, which is what they both need for different reasons. Also, backstory with Dedue!
> 
> The funny thing about the section with Ashe is that I wrote it thinking about America's approach to Mr.Coronavirus before I actually came across a video that went over it in much greater detail. If you like media that gives you homework [ here's the video, although I think this could be a better lens for the Leicester Alliance. (warning, it is somewhat creepy at parts)](https://youtu.be/vG37wwhbS88) It still works for Faerghus, and I simply do not think myself well-read enough to talk about economical issues in-depth enough to critique the Alliance.
> 
> Rius and Bryn. There's hints of the fact that Duscur has better health/mental health services, and a brief explanation on how the Duscis actually made it to Abyss. The cousins are in the background fucking around.
> 
> Khalrenzail. They have been stuck in my brain, living there rent free with the utilities and the wifi password.
> 
> How are the Blue Lions? On the precipice? Cool.
> 
> Dimitri and Dedue talking about who is responsible for what around what needs to happen for what had happened in the past. This sentence was written to be as confusing as I think Dimitri sees everything right now. (Although I hate the fact that not only is Dimitri the only person who gets to be angry about Duscur in game, he seems to be more angry at the fact that he didn't kill the killers of his father, and that's worse.)
> 
> Duscur things! I borrow this style of unarmed combat/brawling from capoeira, an Afro-Brazilian style of martial arts that has a lot of movement and force tied into it.
> 
> Annette and Gilbert C-support at the same time. Gilbert is a bad father. Dedue reminds Gilbert of Fantasy James 2:17, "So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead."
> 
> Byleth chooses to speak and Sylvain and Dedue spar. Sylvain tries a little bit harder now because he's learning, and the two of them have a decent time.
> 
> Dedue, simply wanting to change into casual clothes  
> The Black Eagles, knocking on the door: Allow us to introduce ourselves.
> 
> Dedue gets to cook! I've been waiting for this this entire fic. (ft. the rotating cast)
> 
> I don't know why but Ashe and Cibor seem like the kind of people who would have a lot of crazy ideas (Cibor) and would try to do them with some safety measures (Ashe). Towen is just there. Ashe slowly starts to learn Duscis.
> 
> Lorenz has gay panic. (And a horrible case of being Cyrano d'Bergerac'ed). Duscur and Dagda culture. (I'm basing the Dagda marriage ritual off of marriage engagements in Japans' Heian period.)
> 
> Socialist King Ashe makes an appearance.
> 
> Mercedes and Dedue talk about Duscur religion again! It's been like, 5 years since they did it last. More Duscur worldbuilding.
> 
> On Mihail's birthday, after delivering a gift, Dedue receives the unfortunate present of figuring out the Cyrano d'Bergerac. In case you haven't caught it: Khalid (Claude) is writing to Lorenz, who has a crush on not only Claude and Khalid, but also on Mihail. Mihail may or may not be aware of the fact that Claude and Khalid are the same person, and it is also unknown if he has any romantic feelings for anyone. Only Petra knows more and even then Dedue isn't sure if she does. The headache is earned.
> 
> Remire Village. Oh boy. The part where all the villagers die is actually an easter egg which happens if you just dash to Solon and murder him immediately. The dialogue of the entire scene is mostly direct. See you when the 22nd rolls around.


	15. White Clouds: Omnis Saltatis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> omnis saltatis - we (all) dance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Here'ss the penultimate White Clouds chapter! This one actually breaks the mold from the other ones, but that's all I'll say here.
> 
> Ngl, I actually am kinda dreading posting this because it's going to be rough waiting three months to share the next part with y'all, but hey, we'll make it through this.
> 
> Anyway, stay safe, be a decent person, feel free to like, comment, subscribe, share, etc. Thanks for sticking around as long as y'all have. As a treat, this may actually be the biggest chapter in the fic, so have fun.

The Blue Lions are quiet as they leave Remire. There are no words to describe what happened. At least none that any of them could find right now.

Maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe it’s not. Right now, they’re all horribly traumatized young adults riding in a carriage together.

* * *

Seteth sighs as he sits in front of the classroom. “First of all, I am relieved that you all have returned relatively unharmed. So is everyone else in the monastery-” The green haired man looks out towards the house, and Dedue feels the concern in his gaze. “Before I go any further, allow me to tell you this: you did the best you could in that scenario, no one blames you for the unfortunate circumstances in Remire, and you shouldn’t be as hard on yourself as you currently are.”

There was a rustle of motion behind him, and Seteth nods. “Uh,” Sylvain says, “Where’s the professor?”

“Professor Eisner is currently spending time with their father,” Seteth explains. “The Archbishop has made it clear that you all are to receive a small break in order to try and recoup and regather yourselves. As part of this, I will be having one on one sessions with you all to help you work through whatever you feel you need to. This is the only time that this will be a mandatory service. If you want to request more meetings please, feel free to ask. There is nothing wrong with asking for help.”

* * *

“Mr. Fraldarius.”

“Tch.”

“I would first like to apologize about Tomas and the church’s inability to fully divine his intentions. Is there something that I can help you with?”

“Unless you can spar with me, I see no reason to even be here.”

“Do you ever enjoy anything other than training?”

“First off, I train to be the best, I don’t train for fun. Secondly, what is there to enjoy?”

“The company of others? The arts? I remember your father had a host of operas he went to during his time here.”

“...”

“Try spending some time away from the training grounds, only if you want to. I hear that there is a lovely opera in the local town this upcoming weekend.”

* * *

“Ms. Dominic, I would first like to apologize about placing you into an awkward situation when it comes to one of our knights.”

“Oh, you don’t have to! It’s not your fault Father left!”

“But still, I want to apologize for forcing you into such an unfair situation. If it isn’t too much to ask, can you tell me how you feel about him?”

“...You won’t tell him, right?”

“On my own life, everything that is said in this room will not pass my lips outside of it.”

“Pinky promise it.”

“Very well.”

“I don’t know how I feel about Father. There’s a lot to think about.”

“Feel free to share what you feel comfortable with sharing.”

“Well, Father left me and Mother in a really bad place when he ran away. Leaving Faerghus in disgrace with no sons is quite possibly the worst thing you can do. We were lucky that my uncle was barely able to keep a hold of the Dominic properties. But, he’s my father. And I don’t think he left because of me. He just left because he assumed that he failed as a knight to the Crown.”

“That’s a lot to be thinking about. How do you balance it all?”

“I’m not sure if I do. I tried to write a song about it, but I didn’t like where it was going.”

“Hm. How do you cope?”

“I eat a lot of sweets. Sing a lot of songs. Crying feels good sometimes. Studying and accomplishing things feels great.”

“Do you ever get tired?”

“I try to work past it. I don’t like being tired, it just gives me more time to think about everything. I’d much rather spend time with the others!”

“Ms. Dominic, have you heard of meditation?”

* * *

“Mr. Vessyl, I want to apologize for how long it took the church to take a correct course of action when it came to your kidnapping.”

“Thank you.”

“I want to first ask if there have been any altercations like the one a few moons back. Has anyone said anything of a deplorable nature to you?”

“A few people. But I’m more concerned about Dedue.”

“Do you feel comfortable explaining that?”

“I have some diplomatic power as the Duscur Ambassador. With that and a few connections among the students, I have some amount of protection from the worst of it. Dedue doesn’t have that, and I can’t always be there to defend him.”

“Ah, I see. And how does that make you feel?”

“It makes me nervous, if I’m being honest. I’m afraid to do anything too drastic just in case Dedue gets hurt because of what I do. Of course, there are things I can do, Khalid and Cibor are great help-”

“Khalid? Cibor?”

“...”

“Let’s move on. Have you spoken to Dedue about this?”

“No. It would be unfair to him. He already has to deal with Dimitri and Ingrid, I don’t want him to feel any extra stress because of something outside of his control.”

“Maybe you two should try talking about this. From what I can see, there is very little that could break the bond between you two. But besides that, how do you feel about what happened at Remire-”

* * *

“Mr. Ubert-”

“I remember seeing you at Lonato’s funeral. Was it for official church business?”

“Somewhat. I had to instruct the priest on the finer points of the hymns. But I was actually there to help keep an eye on you and your siblings.”

“Oh?”

“I want to apologize for the actions of the church in Lonato’s death, especially for forcing you to be responsible for it. I- Do you want some tissues?”

* * *

“Ms. Galatea, how are you feeling right now?”

“I’m still kind of numb. One of the villagers was on my pegasus when-”

“Please, only share what you feel comfortable sharing. Take a tissue or some candies if you want to.”

“Thank you.”

“I’m sorry that you had to be in such a horrible situation. I heard from Professor Eisner that you were the best rescuer. You are already such a great Pegasus Knight, I hope that you’re able to continue it after you graduate.”

“...Thank you. I hope I can too.”

“Hm. Would you mind telling me about that?”

“House Galatea stayed with the Kingdom and has been on the brink of financial ruin for a while. Before the Tragedy, I was engaged to Glenn. Glenn died, so now my plans for the future are in the air. I know I’m high-strung, but I’m just worried about my future.”

“But you are aware that others can be hurt by your actions?”

“Of course. I try my best not to hurt His Highness, and suppose I could be nicer to Felix and Sylvain.”

“What about other people?”

“I really don’t interact with others that much.”

“But when you do interact with others, say you interact with either Raphael or Dedue, can your actions still have a harmful impact?”

“That’s different. Raphael wants to be a knight, but he’ll never get it with those manners.”

“And Dedue?”

“I don’t see why we have to talk about him during my meeting.”

“We aren’t talking about him. We’re talking about your actions toward him.”

“Why does everyone want to protect him? Do you know how hard it is growing up as a woman in Faerghus? I was lucky enough to actually have the chance to become a knight before Glenn was murdered in the Tragedy. Now I have nothing.”

“I apologize for making you feel slighted, Ms. Galatea. I had a thought that if we were able to change how you choose to see others, that could help you work through your own issues.”

“Well, that’s not going to work. Can I go now?”

“Feel free to.”

* * *

“Hello, Seteth! I have some sweets if you want any.”

“I would love some. How are you feeling right now?”

“I’m concerned for everyone, it seems like we all are just very dim right now. I’m currently working on my dress for the ball later this moon to help wind down.”

“Hm. I’m glad to know how to best calm and center yourself. If you don’t mind me asking, how did you learn that?”

“Oh, when I came into the Kingdom, my mother and I spent some time with a person who helped us talk about some events. That’s actually the first time I spent near the Church.”

“Really?”

“Yes. But honestly, I’m rather tired now. I‘ve prayed and I’ve thought, and I’ve wondered, and I have no idea how to help anyone.”

“What have you done for yourself? Besides working on the dress?”

“Uh- I-”

* * *

“Mr. Gautier, I personally apologize for having you go against your older brother.”

“Uh, that’s alright. How long do we have to do this for?”

“As long as you feel comfortable. You can leave at any time. How are you feeling right now?”

“Uh, awkward? What am I supposed to talk about?”

“Whatever you feel comfortable talking about. I actually want to commend you for the past months. I’ve heard very few complaints from girls at the monastery.”

“Yeah, I’ve been thinking about things. I don’t think I’ve really spoken to people seriously for a while. What are your thoughts about Crests?”

“Crests?”

“Yeah. I’ve been doing a lot of research and thinking about them and I’m still really confused. They’re apparently power from the Goddess, but even when I use it, I don’t always overpower my enemies.”

“You shouldn’t fully rely on Crests for everything, despite what some people may say. I personally dislike the emphasis placed on Crests, and whenever I am tasked to lead a sermon, I focus more on the Goddess’ other teachings.”

“Huh, really? And all this time I thought I was just going to be married off and hounded for my Crest.”

“...”

* * *

“Greetings, Mr. Blaiddyd.”

“...”

“Professor Eisner told me that you were greatly affected by the events at Remire village. If you feel comfortable with talking about it, please feel free to.”

“...”

“If you want to talk about anything else, we can. I remember the last time we met you were concerned how your classmates were acting, but was unsure on how best to discipline them.”

“...”

“Very well. Do you have any questions for me?”

“When do we get to find those monsters?”

“The Knights are currently doing sweeps around the area-”

* * *

“Hello, Mr. Molinaro. Professor Eisner said you seemed disturbed by Remire village. Are you well enough to speak about that right now?”

“I may be. Forgive me if I’m not.”

“I completely understand if you feel uncomfortable talking about anything. I simply just want to help you help yourself. If you’re not feeling well, we can end this now.”

“I’m not quite sure how I feel right now. Remire reminded me of something horrible, and although I have attempted to make my peace with it, it’s difficult to.”

“Dedue, I speak from experience when I say that what you went through is mentally difficult and taxing. However you feel about it is perfectly fine to feel. What are you doing to make peace with it?”

“I’m trying my best to help Mihail when it comes to rebuilding Duscur. I think it’s going somewhat well, but I am concerned about retaliation.”

“That is concerning, has anyone specifically threatened you?”

“No. But there isn’t much room for me to go, in case someone is more physical in their actions.”

“Ah. If it makes you feel any better, I can help you if you choose to leave the Blue Lions house.”

“...I’ll remember that. Thank you.”

* * *

Dedue enters the reception hall just in time to see Dorothea wave goodbye to a noble. She turns around, and Dedue sees the strained smile on her face before she drops it. He waits for her to leave the noblemen’s earshot before he walks up to her. “Greetings,” he says, remembering Dorothea mentioning her goal to marry rich while enrolled. “Bad encounter?”

“The worst,” Dorothea says in an overly dramatic tone, frowning. “He enjoyed my singing-”

“Everyone who can hear would enjoy your singing-”

“But sadly,” Dorothea continues, holding a hand up to her heart, “this man falls where all others have. It’s a travesty, Duei.”

Dedue tried not to smile as the songstress made eye contact and winked at him. “Please,” he said, holding out his arm, “tell me more about your sorrows over some dessert.”

Dorothea takes his arm. “Oh, dear sir, you are over so kind,” she says with a curtsy. ”Why, if you don’t have your eye on someone, maybe I should marry you and visit Duscur myself!” They start walking up the stairs towards the dining hall, passing by Dorothea’s most recent date. The man seems furious, but Dorothea just giggles and smiles as they move past him. They end up in the line for food quickly and grab their plates.

“So,” Dorothea starts, scooping out a little bit of gelato. “about the idea of me going to Duscur…”

Dedue looks up from his lemon and ginger bar. “I would love for you to visit Duscur, but I’m not currently looking for romance,” he says, looking down at the table as he shakes his head.

“You’re not?” Dorothea asks, dropping her spoon in shock. “But- I thought- Nevermind, it’s none of my business.” She gives him a big smile as she picks up her spoon. “Good for you. It’s not worth it.”

“Oh, don’t say that,” Dedue admonishes, concerned. “Surely someone will treat you how you want to be treated.”

“With money, respect, and unlimited adoration? I can’t wait for that to happen.”

Dedue takes a bite out of his dessert as he nods. “Hear hear.”

“But honestly, how well do you think I would do if I went out to Duscur?” Dorothea asks. “I could always perform an aria or two if people would want me to.”

“Oh, people in Genus would love you,” Dedue admits. “It’s right by the coast, there’s usually an event going on, and there were always people from other countries in the city. You would fit right in.”

Dorothea tilts her head, thinking about it. “Sounds great. I would love to hear what music and art your home country has.”

Dedue chuckles. “I hope you aren’t trying to get me to teach you some,” he says. “I would hate to give the Black Eagles dancer an advantage.”

Dorothea laughs. “Ah, curses, you’ve found out my plot,” she jokingly cries out. “I was going to try to do a song from a country better than someone from that country. Ah, Duei, you would absolutely do so much better than me if you sang. I can see you having a strong baritone, maybe even a decent bass too.”

“Is that so?” Dedue asks. “I don’t think I’m that charming.”

Dorothea gasps. “Please say you’re joking,” she pleads. “I cannot be around Ferdinand and Caspar only to have you think you aren’t just as- no- even more charming than them.”

Dedue can feel the heat rush to his face. “Thank you,” he says with an embarrassed tone. “I don’t think that others would agree, but I appreciate the compliment.”

Dorothea waves away the thanks. “It’s no problem, I have to make sure that everyone can see such obvious things.”

“At least I can say that the future winner of the White Heron Cup has personally complimented my charms,” Dedue contemplates out loud, taking a bite out of his dessert bar.

“I don’t know about that,” Dorothea says. “Hanneman is being stubborn about actually picking me, and there are some students here that could probably give me a run for my money. You’re included in that, by the way.” Dorothea simply took a spoonful of gelato as she finished speaking.

Dedue just simply shakes his head. “If you say so, Dorothea.”

“Please, I have an eye for talent, and you have talent, Duei,” Dorothea says, leaving no room for debate. “Now, let’s talk about something else, I’m actually starting to get nervous about the idea of going against you.”

* * *

Dedue is busy stretching early in the morning, having changed into his training clothes so he could practice sparring by himself, just to warm up for the day. He sits on the ground, legs spread out, and leans forward into a center stretch, torso against the ground. Dedue holds the position for a few moments before he gets back up. As he stretches out towards the left, he hears footsteps against cobblestone and looks up to see Byleth and Jeralt entering the arena. He nods at them in greeting and continues stretching.

He’s just finished stretching and strapping on his leather shield when Jeralt casually trots over. “Hey, you’re Dedue, right?”

“I am,” Dedue says, picking up his gauntlets.

“Do you mind sparring for a few moments?” Jeralt asks. “I need to work on fighting quicker opponents.”

Dedue starts putting on his gauntlets. “Sure. Allow me a few moments to get ready.”

It takes a small while, but soon Dedue is standing across the training grounds from the mercenary, waiting for Byleth to signal a start to the bout. When Byleth’s hand drops, Dedue sees Jeralt begin charging over to him, and decides to be defensive, pulling up some stone from the ground to help hold his defenses.

Jeralt’s first swing is wide, and Dedue quickly ducks under it before he leaps back up, missing the uppercut made in immediate retaliation, but hitting a low kick against the man’s ankles. He quickly strafes to the right before changing his direction suddenly, using the momentum to carry his fist towards Jeralt’s face. He ends up glancing against the man’s chest, and as he pulls his fist back, he spins and delivers a waist high kick that delivers a strong thud as it challenges the armor.

The strength behind the lance as it slams into Dedue’s gut is winding. Dedue works to push past it, getting in two more hits before backing up and trying to deal with the ringing in his ears. He looks up to see Jeralt’s lance swing towards him, and even with that knowledge he’s unable to avoid the strength behind the blow. He winces at the pain radiating through his body before he quickly delivers two quick punches that land directly in Jeralt’s mouth.

The mercenary stumbles back with a laugh, waving his hand to call off the duel. Dedue falls into a relaxed position as Byleth casts heals and recovers on the two of them. Jeralt looks pleased with the fight as one of his teeth jump back into his mouth. “You pack a pretty mean punch,” he says, shaking his head. “Those kicks were pretty deadly too. That’s from _honestum_ , right?”

“I’m sorry, did you just say _honestum_?” Dedue asks, wondering if his ears were somehow still ringing. “How do you know about that?”

“I’ve been in the business for a long time,” Jeralt says with a sigh. “I’ve seen a lot. The fighting style of Duscur isn’t anything new to me. I hope you pull more tricks from it when you can, it would make you a really good fighter, maybe even a better-than-average dancer.”

Dedue watches as Byleth gives their dad a questioning look. Jeralt shrugs his shoulders. “What? All that nonsense about charm and poise means next to nothing when you’re actually in battle,” he tells his child in a casual tone. “All you need to do is be able to guide others and know when to act yourself. It’s only bonus points if you can move as smoothly as _honestum_ allows you to.”

“Either way,” Dedue interjects, nodding at Jeralt. “Thank you for asking to train with me.”

“Hey, it’s no issue, Dedue,” Jeralt says, nodding back at him. “You’re a good kid. I’m sure you’ll do great no matter what role Byleth has you take.”

Glowing praise from the Blade Breaker? Leonie would throw a fit if she heard about this. “Thank you. Have a nice day, sir. I’ll see you in class, professor.”

* * *

“So,” Sylvain says during lunch, elbows on the table. “The White Heron Cup. What are we thinking?”

“I do wonder who the professor is going to pick as our representative,” Mercedes says, whimsically stirring her soup. “I hope they ask someone soon.”

“It’s definitely not gonna be me,” Annette groaned. “I’m always stumbling around and tripping.”

“You’re just moving too quickly, try to look at where you’re going before you take a step,” Dedue advises. “But when it comes to the cup, I am curious about who the professor will pick.”

“Let’s make a bet on it!” Sylvain crows, pulling out a sheet of paper. Mihail hands him a writing utensil. “I have 5 gold on myself and 5 gold on Felix.”

“Stop wasting your money,” Felix growled. “The professor’s obviously going to pick the boar.”

“Is that a bet?”

“5 gold, Gautier. Mark it.”

“Wait, you two cannot be serious,” Ingrid says as Sylvain takes notes on the parchment. “Sylvain, this is immoral-”

“Oh, put 5 gold down for Mihail!” Annette says, interrupting the pegasus knight.

“Annette!”

Mihail smiles at his fellow mage. “Thanks for the vote of confidence, Nettie.”

“Well,” Ashe says, spinning his fork in his fingers, “if everyone else is doing it, I’ll bet on Dedue, Felix, and Sylvain.”

Dedue can’t help but be surprised at the archer’s words. “That’s a lot of gold,” he says in a non-accusatory tone.

Ashe’s face grew very red. “Eh, I’ve been saving a lot of money. I may as well use it, especially if I can get some back.”

“Big spender Ashe has entered the building,” Sylvain remarks, keeping up with the pool very well. “Anyone else?”

Ingrid shook her head. “I’d rather not.”

“Mercedes? Mihail? Dedue? Dimitri?”

The prince just simply grunts and gets up from the table. Everyone sees this happen and stays silent about it.

“Hm,” Mercedes hummed, thinking about it. “Why not? I’ll bid for myself and Anne- yes Annette, I know you could do great as a dancer if you worked on it.”

“I don’t really have the gold to spend,” Mihail says as Annette tries to get the older woman to take back her bid and Mercedes tries to instill more self-confidence in the younger girl.

Felix scoffs. “Do you really expect us to believe that?” he asks. “You spend so much time around Reigan and Gloucester, I wouldn’t be surprised if they were paying for-”

“Felix,” Sylvain cuts in, tone even and a smile on his face that doesn’t reach his eyes, “he doesn’t have to bet if he doesn’t want to.”

“Did someone here say my name?” A distinctly familiar voice says, and Dedue turns around to see Lorenz standing behind him with a curious expression on his face. “If someone wants to talk about any Gloucester business-”

“It’s not that, Lorenz,” Annette says, shaking her head. “We’re just bidding on who the professor will pick to represent the Blue Lions in the White Heron Cup.”

“Oh, we’re scoping out the competition now, Lorenz?” Claude asks sarcastically as a good portion of the Golden Deer follow him. “Good thinking, I like this idea. Put me down for Mihail.”

“Claude!” Lorenz shouts, scandalized. Dedue isn’t sure if the house leader blinked weirdly or winked at him and Mihail. “That’s completely inappropriate! This is obviously an in house matter, and for something so serious, you can’t possibly expect to actually be involved-”

“Got it written down,” Sylvain says, looking back up at the crowd around the table now. “Anyone else?”

“Felix,” Lysithea calls out. “A dancer uses both magic and swords, and while his spellwork leaves much to be desired, his skill with a sword is undeniable.”

“Flayn?” Ignatz says, although he looks unsure of himself. “She carries herself well. Also, I’m pretty sure she’s managed to get Seteth to agree to the idea if it comes up.”

“Oh, put me down for Flayn too!” Hilda says, leaning over Sylvain’s shoulder. Dedue looks past her to see Edelgard and Petra looking at the table with confusion. Dedue shrugs at them.

He’s not surprised when the entirety of the Black Eagles is soon there with them. “What’s going on here?” Hubert asks, holding onto a rather large mug of coffee.

Dorothea leans over Sylvain’s other shoulder and barely glances at the parchment before she speaks. “Isn’t it obvious, Hubie? It’s a betting pool on who’s representing the Lions. Although it’s a pretty basic one.”

“It is quite quaint,” Ferdinand comments. “Why do we not have our own about who will represent the Black Eagles?”

“Because everyone in the monastery knows that Dorothea will represent your house,” Leonie says, as if it’s a fact.

“That is not certain!”

Everyone gives Ferdinand von Aegir a blank stare. Linhardt yawns, turning back to Sylvain. “Put me down for Annette, Felix, or Mihail,” they say, rubbing their eyes. “Their Crests are best suited to help them as a dancer.”

"Hevring-"

“Oh, can people from other houses place a bid?” Petra asks excitedly.

Sylvain nods. “It’s 5 gold a guess, and whoever guesses right splits the pot.”

“I would like to guess Dedue and Ashe.”

“Me?” Ashe repeats in an incredulous tone. “Why me?”

“You and Dedue are rather charming,” the princess explains. “I see you two working together in the kitchens all of the time.”

“Isn’t that just a show of how well they work together?” Ignatz asks, and she just shrugs, obviously steadfast in her bidding.

“Even so,” Edelgard starts, “I’m not sure if it’s proper for us to bid-”

“I already have a few bids from the Golden Deer,“ Sylvain announces, holding up the parchment that’s very well filled in. “It’s just for harmless fun. No one’s gonna tell the professor or be upset about it.”

Edelgard sighs and smiles. “Very well then. Does anyone else want to make a bid?”

Dorothea raises her hand. “I’ll bid for Duei.”

Sylvain raises an eyebrow. “Duei?”

“Is there a problem?” Dorothea asks. “He’s obviously more charming than people seem to think, and if he played to his strengths he would definitely do better than the bee over here.” Ferdinand puts up a light, joking resistance against the nickname now.

Sylvain spots the fire in Dorothea’s eyes and wisely looks down at the page. “Nope, none at all. Anyone else?”

Dedue can barely see the hint of lavender hair that pokes up from behind the group. “Uh, I- I would like to b- bid for Dedue,” Bernadetta says in a soft voice. Dedue smiles at the thought of Bernadetta at the very least being comfortable to join everyone else in random antics.

“Why him?” Ingrid asks, visibly in shock. “I thought you would be terrified of him by his demeanor.”

The comment shifts the tone of conversation drastically. Petra’s hand grips Dorothea’s wrist so she can hold her back. Edelgard, Hubert, Claude, Lysithea, and Leonie’s eyes narrow. Raphael, Caspar, and Ignatz look surprised at how easily that was said. Tension is evident now, and Dedue can feel it in the ground.

“Well,” Bernadetta starts, and glares from the Black Eagles stop others from interrupting her, “he’s nice. And friendly. And he’s very helpful. That’s what a dancer is, right?”

Lorenz nods his head. “Yes, that’s quite right-”

“I help you more than he does, Bernadetta,” Ingrid says, completely flying past the attempt to move the conversation onward. “What can he do in the greenhouses, plant flowers? I help stop you from being cooped up in your room all day.”

Bernadetta pops up a little bit more, only to where you can see her eyes, but Dedue is stunned by the amount of anger in them. “You nearly gave me a heart attack by breaking down my door!” she squeaks out, and even though it’s not quite as loud as she may have wanted it, the message gets across well enough for all of the Black Eagles to stare her down.

Ingrid takes the hint and leaves, carrying away the plates she was eating off of. Sylvain awkwardly clears his throat. “Anyone else?”

A hand is raised in the back, and everyone turns to look at Cyril. “Uh, can I bid for Dedue?” he asks.

Sylvain shrugs, writing it down. Hilda looks suspicious. “Where are you going to get the money from?”

“From me,” Lorenz says in a matter-of-fact tone. “It’s on behalf of one of the Almyran princes.”

Mihail takes in a sharp breath, and Dedue looks over at him to see that he’s staring down at the table, trying his hardest not to laugh. Petra looks vaguely amused, Cyril has his lips pursed together, and Claude has a smirk on his face as he wraps an arm around Lorenz’s shoulder. “Oh, you’re talking with royalty now?" The house leader asks. "Hope you’re telling him good things about your house leader.”

Dedue excuses himself and gets up from the table before he either passes out from pent-up laughter or a pinpointed migraine at the look on Lorenz’s face.

* * *

Dedue now spends every Wednesday helping to cook in the dining room. Flayn also joins him every now and then, and although Dedue helps teach her how to cook, she’s still banned from even looking at the spice cabinet or touching the stove.

“Chef Deddles?” Flayn asks, and Dedue looks over his shoulder to see her step back from her station. “I have finished preparing the vegetables like you said to. The carrots are julienned and the onions are diced.”

“Thank you, Flayn,” Dedue says, reaching over to grab the ingredients as the green-haired girl practically glowed in excitement. “Feel free to take a break and go fishing if you want to.” By the time he finishes his sentence, Flayn is already by the door, running towards the fishing docks. Dedue chuckles at her high energy and turns back to the broth he was tending to, adding the carrots and onions in and putting it on low heat.

He’s cleaning up the entire workstation now as Seteth approaches. He nods at the green haired man as he wipes the top of the counter. “Greetings.”

“Greetings,” Seteth says, nodding back. There’s a clinking sound as Seteth holds out a small bag of gold. “As someone employed part time by the church, you are entitled to a weekly stipend of 25 gold. Here it is.”

“Thank you,” Dedue says as he takes the small parcel and puts it in his bag.

Seteth shakes his head. “It is no issue. However, if you have some extra time after you finish cooking, I would like to ask you to share a meal with me this dinner.”

Dedue thinks back to the taller light green flower in the greenhouse that had a root breaking the surface as if to wave at him. “I would be happy to join you. If you could give me some time to finish the stew and check in with Devian, I can meet you outside at the veranda.”

“Then I will see you there,” Seteth says with a nod, calmly walking away. As Dedue watches the man leave the dining hall, he wonders what Seteth wants to talk to him about. They last spoke about Remire Village, and although Dedue liked the man, he didn’t necessarily trust him enough to go over the effects of what watching your family home burn down may be.

The Kingdom soldiers were shouting that the Murder was for the Goddess, after all.

After the soup had been placed away and Devian had nodded and dismissed him, Dedue put up his apron and washed his hands, still thinking about it. Seteth had said that he and Flayn had come to the monastery because of others, but didn’t elaborate on whatever the main incident was that had forced their hand. Maybe Seteth just wanted to talk about everything, use the ball and the Cup as an excuse to let his hair down-

Dedue froze for a minute, letting the running water pass over his hands. It takes a few seconds, but soon Dedue has fully compartmentalized the fact that that might have been the most unlikely thing he’s ever thought about. He’s still glad that it’s difficult to see him blush when he goes out to the veranda, taking a seat at the table Seteth has prepared for them. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Seteth says, passing over the larger plate. “I do hope you enjoy Gronder Meat Skewers, they were the only thing that were available at the moment.”

Dedue simply takes a bite out of one of the skewers and nods. Seteth sighs in relief, his shoulders relaxing. “Good, I would hate to make you uncomfortable while we talk.”

“What did you want to talk to me about?” Dedue asks, reaching for a cup and the jug of water.

Seteth seemed to take the time to steel himself, waiting until Dedue finished pouring his drinks. “I- I want to just make sure that you are alright after what you’ve seen during the mission,” he says, the tone of his voice very quiet. “I know that seeing things that remind you about such events can be just as traumatizing as the events themselves. When Flayn was just a child, we had to flee from Rhodos Coast after such traumatizing events.”

Dedue remains silent, lost in thought about Seteth’s words. Yes, the sight of Remire Village was creepily familiar, but that’s in the past. He’s already asked for a funeral for so many people, and some of them are still alive. But, he did freeze for a moment.

“And if I am simply being overbearing-”

“You’re not,” Dedue interrupts. He feels a splash of water land on his knuckles. When he looks down, he sees that his hand holding the cup is shaking a bit. It taps against the table as he puts it down. “I haven’t been seriously resting for a while now. Although I don’t think that anyone has-”

“I don’t want to be rude, but have you tried ignoring everyone else?” Seteth asks. Dedue gives him a look. “Try going to your room, locking the door, and simply taking the time to relax. To think about yourself.” There’s a long silence, punctuated by the sound of the sticks tapping against the plates as the two of them finished each skewer.

“I’ll try that now,” Dedue says, nodding at Seteth as he slides his chair back. “Thank you for the meal.”

“Thank you for sitting with me,” Seteth says, visibly relieved. “I hope that I’m not intruding. I-” He sighs, and the sheer weariness makes him seem so much older than he is for a moment. “I was in a similar situation as you, and before I ended up here, I was in a horrible place. Thank you for listening to the rushed concerns of an old man.”

Dedue stands up politely, pushing in his chair. “You cannot be that old,” he muses, mostly joking, “Flayn is probably 13 or 14. You cannot be much older than-” He actually stares at the man for a while. “25? How old was your mother?”

Seteth spits out the water he was drinking. Dedue takes that as his cue to leave, doing so as the green-haired man tries to sputter through an answer. He ends up walking to his room, closing the door and laying down on his bed, staring at the ceiling.

He doesn’t know when he falls asleep, but he does know that his dream starts with his parents in front of him. They were in their early 40s, his mother with the coily white hair that he inherited and his father with his dark brown hair tied up and out of the way. They smiled and held out their arms, and Dedue feels like he’s 13- 14? 14 again as he runs into his parents’ arms and hugs them. There are tears running down his face, and people are talking, but in the middle-space of dreams, he can’t make out the words.

That doesn’t matter to him right now. He cries about the memory of how they sounded when they were alive.

There’s a strong heat that envelops him, and Dedue is coughing as he runs out of his home, Aura pulling him along. Aura leaps over a small barrier, and at the time, Dedue couldn’t control the ground well enough to get over it himself. But right now, in this dream, he can. So he does.

Aura cheers him on as he catches up to her, as if he’s still the 10 year old that threw himself over the counter to catch her in the face with flour. They run for a while, and suddenly Aura goes down the other path of a fork, disappearing into the trees. Dedue continues running. He’s aware of his childhood friends: Cibor is a flash between the branches, Rius is a chill in the air, Adrista is the light that gets through the leaves of the trees, and Bryn is the warmth of the sun.

Dedue runs through the border between Duscur and Faerghus. Colorful huts and mats become grey stones and dim torches. He’s running through the hallways of Fhirdiad, where behind every closed door is some meeting. The hallway only ends when it does, placing him in the monastery.

There are many different hims that he sees in the monastery as he jogs around it. He’s in the greenhouse, talking to Bernadetta. He’s in his room, braiding his hair with Mihail. He’s in the training grounds, fighting against Ingrid and Felix. He’s in the dining room, staring at Dimitri with an unrecognizable look in his eye. He’s by the fishing pond, laughing with Dorothea. He’s in the kitchens, cooking with Ashe. He’s in the cathedral, talking with Mercedes. He’s in the classroom, working with Annette and Sylvain. He’s in Seteth’s office, talking with both Seteth and Flayn. He’s at the veranda, where Claude, Lorenz, Lysithea, Edelgard, Hubert, Ferdinand, Petra-

He’s everywhere, and he just now realizes this. 

There’s one last person, waiting right outside the gate. Dedue can tell that he isn’t fully male or female, but she isn’t neither. He smiles, holding out her hand, and Dedue understands the message, taking a seat on the ground in front of him.

“Hello, my child,” she says, voice peaceful. “I am so proud of you for what you have done.”

Dedue is confused. “What did I do?”

“I would hope it’s obvious,” the person says with a sigh. He waves her hand and barren land comes up, trees burned and the ground acrid and cracking. “You’ve planted some seeds after the earth was burned.”

“I-”

“You know, we all have seen Duscur’s spark nearly die out many times,” He continues, wistfully. “We’re glad that you all have been able to keep it lit. Allow the spark to grow into a rising flame.”

Dedue freezes at the way she phrases his words. “Who are you?”

She laughs. “Ah, of course, I forgot to introduce myself.” He draws into the crackling dirt with a stick that suddenly appears in her hand. The ground it touches glows, and Dedue realizes it’s the same glow as the glow in the greenhouses when he sings a song of planting and nurturing seeds. “I am Tellus,” the man announces. “Or Terrae,” she adds with a smile. “Either way, you’ve rested for a while now. Just know that whatever you do next, the earth will support you.”

Tellus smiles, and as Dedue watches, she crumbles into sand in front of him. There’s a soft rumbling underneath him, as calm reassurance of the god’s earlier words. He sits there for a while, watching the sky as the sun sets. It’s peaceful. It feels like he’s finally able to sit back and think instead of constantly reacting to and attempting to preact to different things.

Dedue wakes up to a knock on his door and the smell of hot food. As he rubs the sleep out of his eyes, he catches red hair and a sheepish grin standing in his doorway.

“Surprise,” Sylvain says, holding a plate of food. “I got some Super-Spicy Fish Dango if you want to share.”

* * *

“Thank you for the food,” Dedue says as he puts the now empty plate on the desk.

“Yeah, it’s no problem,” Sylvain says, still sitting on Dedue’s bed. “A few of us noticed that you didn’t show up for dinner and I decided to just bring you food.”

“Ah,” Dedue vocalizes, turning back around to face the redhead. His eyebrow goes up when he sees that Sylvain is fidgeting. “Is everything okay?”

“Ineedtoapologize-” Sylvain blurts out. He coughs, clears his throat, and tries again as Dedue takes a seat in the chair. “I mean, you deserve an apology from me. For kind of- shit, wait, that’s wrong- for using you as a way to vent. And for breaking that promise we made in Fhirdiad.“

Dedue remembers the night when they promised to help each other, years ago. “Why didn’t you ever step in?” he asks, testing the grounds of the apology. “I would get it if you didn’t speak up against the nobles in Fhirdiad, but what stopped you from talking to Felix or Ingrid?”

Sylvain rubs the back of his neck. “I was scared,” he admits. “It’s- uh, a personal thing? It’s cold and lonely in Gautier. We’re fighting Sreng all the time. I’ve grown up with them. It doesn’t excuse anything, but it’s difficult to stand up to them when I’m afraid they’ll bite my head off and leave me on the side of the road.” 

Dedue nods. “I accept your apology,” he says, standing up and patting Sylvain on the shoulder. “Thank you for being honest.”

“Yeah, Seteth said I should probably try being more honest with myself. In a very blunt way.”

“That’s probably the best thing for you,” Dedue agrees. “Although somehow, I think that I’m not the only person you owe an apology to.”

Sylvain groans as he falls back on the bed. “You’re the tenth person today,” he says.

Dedue laughs at him as he picks up the plate. “Do you want to walk with me to the dining hall so you can stretch your legs before your next apology?”

Sylvain rolls out of the bed, and stands up, fixing his hair with his hands. “Sure. I think if we get there fast enough, there’ll be some dessert left over.”

* * *

It’s after the Blue Lions (and Dorothea) deal with one of Ingrid’s suitors that Byleth pulls Dedue aside and asks him to be the representative for the house.

“Why me?” Dedue asks, confused.

“You’ve already mastered everything you need to know about the brawler class, you have excellent dexterity, and your command over the battalions is impressive,” Byleth explains, looking and writing in a journal as they speak. “Besides, it would probably be better for Sylvain to be a dark knight and Felix to be a mortal savant, and you already keep an eye out for mages, so I won’t have to spend too much energy making sure that you’re doing alright as a dancer-”

Dedue just lets the professor continue rambling until they stop and everyone gets back in the carriages to head home. Dorothea calmly sits in between Dedue and Sylvain, laughing about how one of her spells reacted with the blistering air of Aliel.

* * *

On the morning of the first Sunday of the moon, a week and two days before the White Heron Cup, the representative’s names are posted on the announcement boards.

_Black Eagles - Dorothea Arnault_

_Blue Lions - Dedue Molinaro_

_Golden Deer - Ignatz Victor_

In the midst of all the chaos at the board, Dedue spots Cyril sticking his tongue out at Claude and Claude looking amused. Sylvain is going around the crowd, tapping people who owe money on the shoulder and giving the five people who guessed right their respective earnings.

Felix scowls as he hands over 5 gold. “This is stupid,” he mutters.

Petra grins as she gets 11 gold. “I think that this is quite charming,” she says as she puts it away.

Ferdinand and Hubert look over Sylvain’s shoulder. “Linhardt is in the library if you want me to fetch them,” Ferdinand says. Hubert hands over 15 gold.

“They will pay me back later,” he says, and everyone except for Ferdinand shudders at the sudden chill in the air.

Sylvain just takes the gold with thanks and gives 6 pieces to Ashe. Ashe smiles and pockets it. Dedue frowns. “That’s not much,” he says, thinking about whether he should ask Sylvain to double check his parchment.

“Eh, I did make three bids,” Ashe reasons, shrugging. “It makes sense that I get less gold anyway. Besides, I didn’t really care that much for it, I’m just glad that you’re the representative.”

Before Dedue can react to that beyond surprise, there’s a shriek and some squeals as the women of the Blue Lions join the crowd and look at the announcement. It seems like Flayn just warps over to shout, “Congratulations, Chef Deddles!” as she hugs him.

The entire crowd pauses, and Dedue can see Mihail mouthing, “Chef Deddles” to himself. He glances around the crowd, and sees Seteth glaring at all of the students. People, wisely, decide not to bring it up.

Dorothea and Ignatz meet up with him as the crowd slowly disperses. “So,” Dorothea starts, “my fellow competitors-”

“Oh Goddess, are we already going to be at each other’s throats?!” Ignatz asked nervously.

“It’s a dance competition, not a fight,” Dedue remarks.

“Exactly,” Dorothea states. “My fellow dancers-in-training, I come bearing an olive branch. The stage can be a battlefield with far too many divas on the stage, and every time it is an ugly thing that usually ends in a horrible throat injury and at least three ensemble members in tears and bruises. I don’t want that to happen here.”

Dedue shares a scared look with Ignatz, and the artist clears his throat. “Uh, a throat injury?”

“It would be best if I didn’t tell you,” Dorothea says, “but know that she deserved it. Either way, I want to promise that there will be no sabotage or negative intentions between us. We support each other, we cheer each other on, we admire each other, and we give this monastery the three best performances it has ever seen.” She holds out her hand, palm facing the ground. “Are we all in agreement?”

Ignatz shakily places his hand under hers as he nods, squeaking out a small, “Yes”.

Dedue places his hand in the pile, smiling. “Of course. To good performances.”

“To good performances!” Dorothea shouts, and the bell tolls, letting everyone know about the opening of the dining hall for breakfast. “Now gentlemen, start your planning.”

* * *

It is in the afternoon of that same Sunday, the 7th day of the Ethereal Moon, that Dedue is practicing with Byleth on the grounds of the Officers’ Academy. They are both silent as they cycle through the steps of a basic waltz, something that Dedue would probably dance at a ball in Faerghus if someone chose to dance with him. It isn’t difficult, but it isn’t exciting. Even if he has all the steps perfectly (and he probably doesn’t, it’s so stilted and formal it’s stagnant), all it shows is that he’s able to follow a simple rhythm with even simpler steps. It marks him as a guest in the house of Fodlan’s arts, and it pushes him into a basic three piece suit with a tie that chokes him.

If the professor’s dance marks him as a guest in this metaphorical house, Dorothea simply practicing on her own marks her as the lady of the house, walking down the grand marble staircase to greet him. She hums as her feet move in a very practiced manner, probably some choreography she practiced at least a thousand times before she came to the monastery.

Ignatz may not be on the same level as the songstress, but he is a student of art, and so even his nervous movements hold promise and theory in them, an invitation of complexity when he’s able to look over his notes and perfect it later on this week. When some of his house members cheer for him, he stands a little bit straighter and moves with a little bit more confidence. and Dedue can tell that by the time the 16th comes around, he will be a force to be reckoned with.

As he and Byleth finish dancing, the professor looks pleased with how it’s gone. “I would ask Mercedes and Annette to design what you want to wear during the cup,” they say, pulling out that small journal of theirs again. “If you want to practice more, please feel free to. I will be busy for the rest of the week.”

“Will we not be having anymore lessons?” Dedue asks.

“I don’t think that we’ll need to,” Byleth says, closing their journal. “Feel free to come up with your own performance. Do whatever you want that doesn’t break the rules or hurt someone.”

Dedue is pretty sure that the only rules are that you cannot hurt or embarrass someone. “Of course,” he says, thinking about what he’s supposed to do next.

As Byleth walks away, Dedue can’t help but think that his professor has just set him up to lose this competition.

* * *

That night, he slips into Abyss and is greeted by the smirk on Hapi’s face. “So, representative, huh?”

“I don’t know if I should feel glad or angry about being picked,” Dedue says, shaking his head. Hapi holds out an arm for him to take and he does so. “Did the stars tell you?”

“They did,” Hapi admits. “But everyone in Abyss knows about the White Heron Cup. It’s practically the only form of entertainment we get here that doesn’t have to involve gambling.”

“Ah,” Dedue says, “That makes a lot more sense then it probably should.”

Hapi laughs. “Welcome to Abyss.”

“Dedue!” Cibor shouts, all the warning the blacksmith’s son gets before he nearly gets tackled. “Congrats!”

“Thanks?”

Towen laughs as they approach. “He’s just happy because Baila and I are giving everyone some time off from training,” they explain as Cibor rushes back to the room, mumbling about wanting to sharpen his dagger. “Glad you got picked.”

“Thank you,” Dedue says, more sure of himself now, well aware about the bluntness of the Resiti siblings and their speech. “I assume you’re also going to take a break from training for the week?”

“Oh no,” Towen says with a laugh, “I’m actually here to pick you up. We have some training to do.”

There’s a grip on his bicep, and Dedue looks to see that Baila is on his left, a smile on her face. “Ready to get to work?”

_“Terrae causa-” (Oh for Terra’s sake-)_

“He sounds ready enough. Let’s go!”

* * *

Sparring against Towen is different than sparring against Felix. Felix is quick, and he uses that speed to try and add an extra bit of strength into his attacks. Towen is also quick, but they’re also far more strategic, sidestepping swings and deflecting strikes with surprising ease. Felix sprints in straight lines, obviously showcasing his intent, and Towen relies on keeping their options open, their stance relaxed until they’re closing, then very reminiscent of _honestum_ as they roll their steps.

Dedue catches up to the game quickly, falling into his own earthen _honestum_. He ducks under the pointed tip of Towen’s sword and tries to retaliate with an uppercut that they back up from.

“So,” Towen says conversationally as they strafe to the left, sword at the ready. “How are you feeling right now?”

“Better,” Dedue responds, panting slightly as he rocks back and forth. “Why do you ask?”

Towen’s sword dropped to the ground as Dedue backed out of range. “Well, you’re about to graduate to a house leader, right? _Saltansne fiere domino?_ ” _(Dancing to become head of house?)_

Dedue pauses as he actually thinks about it. His parents, the last heads of Molinaro, died in the fire. Only Terra knows where his sister is. He’s an adult now at 19 years old. He’s about to dance for a crowd of people. Sure, it’s not exactly the big inheritance ceremony that he and Aura would constantly dream about in their room, but- “The White Heron counts?”

“I don’t see why it doesn’t,” Towen remarks, shrugging their shoulders. “Besides, who else is going to know.”

“But I need a family member to witness-”

“Dedue.” Towen’s voice is impassive, but their expression screams disbelief. _“Non_ _nominasne Mihem fratrem tui?” (Do you not call Mihail your brother?)_

Dedue nods. _“Ago,”_ he says nonchalantly, before his eyes widen in realization. “Oh.” _(I do.)_

Towen also nods. “Yeah. _Tu saltaturus factus esse domino Molinaris.” (You are about to dance to become Molinaro’s head of house.)_

Dedue hums, somewhat noncommittally as the idea fully sinks into his head. It doesn’t root him down into the ground, but he does forget nearly every word he knows in Duscis for the moment, so he speaks in Fodlan. “What is it like, being a house leader?”

“It’s interesting,” Towen says as they sheath their sword and move a dark grey loc out of their face. “You seem like you’ll be a good fit.”

“Thanks.”

“Ah, don’t thank me yet,” The Resiti warns, looking past him. “I’m just your warm up. Baila’s the one who’s going to take you through your paces.”

Dedue hears footsteps behind him and feels sweat start to drip down his brow as he turns around and sees Baila standing there, leaning against a training axe. “Hey, it could be worse,” she argues, staring at her sibling, “I’m the nicer one.”

Towen starts laughing, and Baila looks annoyed until it slowly fades away with their footsteps. “Well now that they’re gone,” she says, lifting up her axe, “feel free to be honest. Do you actually want to train?”

“Truthfully? No.” Dedue admits. Baila nods as if she expected that answer, throwing her training axe off to the side of the small arena.

She calmly takes a seat on the ground, dark black and red hair bouncing, and pats a space next to her. “Come on,” she implores, “take a seat.” Dedue does so, unstrapping his gauntlets and placing them off to the side. “You know, Towen and I are _Belli_ as well as siblings,” she says, fully lying down and staring at the ceiling. “So, just like you’re in tune with the earth, we’re in tune with weapons.”

Dedue nods, confused about where this is going.

Baila makes eye contact with him and winks. “But even beyond that, we spend so much time around people that it’s easy to spot when someone is lost in their head. We helped our parent guide others in self-defense classes in Henrici. So when you came down here today, we could tell that you’re stuck somewhere. Is it about the Cup?”

Dedue sighs, laying down right next to her. “Yes, it’s about the Cup,” he says. “Your sibling already pulled the ground out from under me.”

“Yeah, they have a tendency to do that,” Baila says. “They’ve always been more focused on defense than offense, so although they’re blunt, it’s even worse than usual.”

“You mean worse than yours,” Dedue says.

Baila smiles. “Hey, you’re perceptive,” she jokes with a giggle. “But yeah, they’re 2 years older, but they have to ask their 19 year old sister to make sure that people understand them well every now and then.”

Dedue is still confused. “So that’s what you’re here to do?”

“Exactly.” Baila sits up now, stretching her arms. “What is the earth like to you?”

“Huh?”

Baila looks around the arena and then leans in close, voice lowering to a whisper. “Keep this quiet, but technically I am also _Domina Resitis_ , along with Towen. We just say that it’s only them for-” she pauses for a moment, “reasons.”

Dedue raises an eyebrow, but he doesn’t push any further than that. “What does that have to do with the earth?”

Baila sighs, leaning back. “When you’re the head of your family,” she says, “you are the showcase of your family’s values. Now, we all get that the head of the family is more of a symbolic thing, but there’s some thought behind it that’s useful.”

“Like?”

“What do you value?” Baila asks him. “For me, I value a patient and careful plan for situations. Towen values a well-held defense and recovery. Both of those tie into our following of _Bellum_ and the ideals of Duscur. Contrary to some people’s belief, we don’t necessarily like fighting, although we are children of war, but we understand that sometimes, fighting is necessary to protect those who need to be protected, and so we work together to defend those who need defending and to attack those who need to stop harming others.”

In an alien way, Dedue gets it. His parents were blacksmiths, not bladesmiths, so he never fully understood the mechanics of fighting until he went to Faerghus, but he did pay attention in school when it came to Virgil’s teachings and distinctly remembers a good portion of information that lines up with what Baila is saying. 

“I value-” He pauses and thinks about it for a minute. He thinks about the dream he had, all the barren lands and the glow of seeds. He thinks about Ashe starting to work towards helping the people, Annette starting to work towards the complicated feelings she has to her father, and Sylvain’s progress on his many issues. He thinks of Mihail seemingly coming back from the dead to reenter his life, and how much they’ve both grown together. He thinks about the other Duscis in the tunnel. He thinks about the advice he gave Lorenz, and what he’s told Dimitri, and what he’s helped Seteth with.

And it all hits him. “I value caring for others,” he says simply.

Baila hums. “And how does that tie in with the earth?”

Dedue thinks about the greenhouse, helping Bernadetta add more nutrients to her soil. “I help provide a stable and nourishing ground for everyone,” he says, more confidently now. “Even if the land is burned or salted, I try to work at it to help as many people as I can.”

“How does that tie in with Duscur?”

“Every action I take, no matter how small, is another step closer to rebuilding Duscur.”

Baila smiles at him, and it’s a sad smile. Dedue mirrors it, as he feels lighter than ever even though he knows he’s just vocalized a lot of the responsibilities and fears he put on himself. If he isn’t a good foundation, most things crumble, and a foundation that’s good for everyone has to be flexible enough for those who want to work together while finding a way to help discourage those who don't want to work together to want to leave-

“One last question,” Baila says, standing up. “Well two, maybe three.” They both laugh at how quickly she changes her mind. “How are you going to dance during this Cup?”

Dedue groans, sitting up. “I tried to dance like a Fodlaner while I practiced today, but I looked like an amateur next to Dorothea-”

“Okay, so you can’t dance well as a Fodlaner,” Baila says, cutting him off. “What can you dance well as?”

It’s like a flower blooms in his head as the pieces fall together. “A Duscis.”

Her smile is happier as she helps him up with surprising ease. Dedue is glad they didn’t spar. “Last question. What does all of this mean to you?”

To him? It means everything. And when everything is ashes and dust, the same things that Duscur was originally born from- “It means a chance to start over,” he says. “A clean slate.”

Baila nods. “Hopefully, the next time we see each other, I’ll be talking to a fellow house leader.”

Dedue nods back. “You will,” he promises. “And you will also be talking to the only dancer in the monastery.”

* * *

In between classes and training, Dedue roughly sketches out ideas for how he’ll perform: one page for music, one page for dances and steps, and one page for costuming and effects. In the late afternoon, he makes a neater copy of his notes for music and gives it to Mihail with a nod. Mihail looks down at the page, skims it over, and nods back before he gets whisked away by Lorenz, who is talking about colors and fabrics and types of suits for the ball at the end of the moon.

He makes a second copy of his notes for costuming and meets up with Mercedes and Annette during dinner. It takes them until they finish desert, but when they separate, they have a decent plan about what Dedue will wear, and Mercedes promises to get the fabric that she’ll need so she can measure him tomorrow.

On his way to his room, Dorothea catches up to him with a grin. “Already commanding the troops?”

“Just making sure that everything is prepared,” he answers, smiling back at her. “How are you faring?”

“Luckily, Edie and Hubie love the arts,” Dorothea says with a sigh. “And if they didn’t, Ferdie alone probably would’ve gotten me everything I need by Thursday at the latest.”

Dedue hums, not surprised at the noble’s determined nature. “That’s nice. We’ll be dancing in the reception hall, right?”

“Right,” Dorothea nods as she speaks. The two of them stop in front of the door to her room. “Actually, if you want to, we could probably drag Ignatz along with us during lunch tomorrow to see how big the space is. I hear that they’re moving all the tables tomorrow.”

“Sure, would we meet in the Academy or in the dining hall?”

“Hm, dining hall. Hanneman’s so boring sometimes I think he’s actively stealing the nourishment of my breakfast away from me.”

* * *

Ignatz seems even more nervous than usual as he takes a seat to Dedue. Dedue notices the large amounts of marked parchment sticking out of his bag. “You might want to be careful, it looks like it’s going to fall out.”

“Huh?” Ignatz looks down and quickly shoves everything in, closing the bag better. “Thank you. I’ve been kind of scatterbrained lately,” he says in explanation, wincing. “Well, more scatterbrained than usual.”  
  


“What are you busy with?” Dedue asks, kindly. “It seems important.”

“It’s for my dance,” Ignatz says, blushing in embarrassment. “I need to ask Lysithea a few more questions but it should be mostly put together-”

“Hey!” Dorothea interrupts as she walks over, a smile on her face and her hat slightly askew. “Ready to go?”

“No time like the present,” Dedue says, and Ignatz practically leaps up to follow them. There’s some small talk between the three as they make their way to the reception hall. The entire monastery is bustling to prepare for the White Heron Cup and the Ball, with priests, monks, and knights moving around and carrying items. There are many people in the hall, some of them hanging up banners while others move tables and place down candles.

As they enter the hall, Shamir steps in front of them with a bored expression on her face. “Let me guess,” she starts, “you want to know how big the space will be for the Cup.”

Dedue looks at the other two, sharing expressions of shock. All three of them nod at the same time. Shamir sighs and guides them around the hall, pointing out where the tables will be moved to build the stage for the Cup. All in all, it seems like the stage will be somewhat smaller than the arena used for festivals in Silvae, if Dedue’s memory of the place is still correct. Dorothea hums to herself through their tour, and Ignatz is frantically taking notes on another piece of parchment.

Shamir moves quickly and efficiently, and soon, all three representatives are outside of the reception hall again, this time being warned not to come back until the 16th. Dorothea gets whisked away by Petra, Ignatz gets whisked away by Raphael and Lysithea, and Dedue finds himself walking back to the Blue Lions classroom with Ashe and Sylvain.

He spends the afternoon getting measured by Mercedes and Annette, doing some light gauntlet training, and starting to put together his dance in his room.

* * *

Wednesday is very simple.

During a training bout, Byleth pairs off Ingrid and Dedue for an exhibition match. As soon as the match starts, Ingrid flies across the training arena, the tip of her lance getting caught in Dedue’s hair and tugging against his ponytail. As she pulls back, she pulls her lance up, throwing Dedue’s retaliatory punches off their mark as she yanks at his hair.

Dedue grunts, looking up at Ingrid’s smug smile as she retreats a few feet back. He calmly and expertly exchanges his steel gauntlets for what the professor called “killer knuckles”, a type of gauntlet that was shaped like a glove and had brass plating over his fist. He calmly makes sure that there’s a small bit of stone ready to block part of the pegasus knight’s attack before he makes eye contact again. He holds out a hand and beckons her to attack again.

Ingrid charges with an angry yell, her lance mostly impacting stone and grazing against Dedue’s side. Dedue takes the moment to strike back immediately, his first punch grounding the pegasus, and the second one a haymaker that knocks the blonde off of her mount.

It’s rather therapeutic. In the afternoon, when he and Mihail are working on refining the choreography, they waste a good amount of time laughing about it.

* * *

On Thursday afternoon, Dedue finds himself changing behind a screen for his fitting. It’s easy to put on the clothes, it being very visibly similar to his brawler’s kit. He pulls on the base layer, a muted gold undersuit before he puts on the slightly thicker forest green and black trimmed top that Dedue explained to the priest earlier as common festival wear in Duscur. The seams that connect the front and back of the top split at the waist, creating a beltless tunic that ended just above his knees. Dedue quickly pulled on and laced up the simple sandals before he stepped out, facing Annette and Mercedes as they sat waiting in the priest’s room.

Annette’s mouth falls open, and Dedue watches as the journal she was holding falls out of her hands. “Oh wow, Mercie! You did a great job!”

“Thank you,” Mercedes says distractedly, looking up and down, assessing her work. “Do you have the pen ready?”

“Huh- Oh!” Annette quickly grabs the journal again, pulling a pen out from behind her ear. “Ready!”

Mercedes nods as she guides Dedue over to a set of mirrors placed in such a way so that Dedue can see himself from multiple angles. “Is everything comfortable?” she asked, reaching into her shawl and pulling out a small tin. “Nothing is too tight or pinching you?”

“Nothing is pinching me,” Dedue agrees with a nod of his head. 

Mercedes pulls a light piece of chalk out of the small tin, moving closer. “Is it alright if I get close to make some markings for later?”

Dedue shrugs and holds out his arms to the side, nodding his head. Mercedes starts lightly tracing lines in different places of the garment as she tells Annette different instructions to write down for later. The system is very efficient, and soon Dedue is back in his uniform and telling the two goodbye as Annette tries to shove him out of the door. He looks down at the mage as she gives up, breathing heavily. Annette looks up at him, making eye contact for a brief moment before she starts laughing, and the entire room fills with laughter.

When Dedue does leave, he practices his steps, and Mihail lets him know that he’s got the music portion taken care of. There’s a smirk on his face, and he’s tightlipped about it when Dedue asks him for details.

* * *

On Friday evening, there’s excited shouting coming from Ignatz’s room. When Dedue pokes his head out into the hallway, he watches Ignatz run out of his room with an excited look on his face, practically bouncing up the stairs to the second floor. Raphael follows him, carrying a very excited and somewhat annoyed Lysithea. Ashe and Dorothea also look into the hallway, and all three of them share confused glances as the rest of the Golden Deer seem to be ecstatic.

When he and Mihail head down to Abyss, Dedue hears the familiar notes of music that would play in ceremonies and festivals. This one is a more jaunty tune, one that invites people onto the ground to simply dance and rejoice together. Mihail takes off running to the Duscis training room and Dedue follows him, a load of disbelief taken off of his shoulders as they enter the arena and see Adrista and Bryn dancing as Rius plays on a drum, Cibor plucks the strings of a kora, and Towen and Baila work together on an mbira. Everything is makeshift, and even though the notes aren’t perfect, they’re close enough to the real thing that when Mihail pulls Dedue into the dance circle, he only hesitates for a moment before falling into step with Bryn.

They dance into the night, switching on and off of instruments when someone tires of dancing or is curious about picking up the basics of one of the instruments. Throughout the time, Dedue learns that the other Duscis plan to sneak onto the monastery grounds as musicians to play for him during the Cup and keep Abyss a secret from the rest of the world. Mihail smirks as they leave. Dedue reorders a bit of his dance in his head.

* * *

On Saturday morning, Dedue wakes up early to use the training grounds as a temporary dance floor to physically put his thoughts together. His dance seems smoother now as he solidly moves one from motion to the next, and when he leaves for breakfast, he’s aware of what he needs to practice in his room.

He’s just started eating when Dimitri joins him. The two nod at each other as they tuck into their meals, and it’s a mostly silent peace that is only broken up by noises in the background.

“So,” Dimitri starts, “how do you feel about the Cup?”

“I feel confident,” Dedue answers simply.

Dimitri nods his head again. “That’s good,” he says simply, his fork tracing a lazy trail through his food. “If you want, we could ask a dancer from the kingdom to travel quickly-”

Dedue coughs. It’s a subtle cough, one that he couldn’t really control. It does stop Dimitri from speaking though, and that’s a benefit right now. “I don’t think it is necessary, Your Highness,” he says kindly. “I am rather proud of what I have been able to accomplish with some help these past few days.”

“That’s great, Dedue,” Dimitri states, slightly brighter than the monotone he had been using all moon. “I cannot wait to see what you’ve done. Hopefully you become the dancer and we can be a stronger force when fighting the monsters at Remire.”

Dedue’s food suddenly feels like a rock in his stomach. “Hopefully I win,” he repeats calmly, nodding his head as if he agrees with the entirety of that statement.

Luckily, class today is rigorous enough that he can almost forget about the hungry and haunted expression on the prince’s face as he was speaking. When Mercedes asks him to meet in her room for another fitting at the end of the day, he takes the distraction and leaves with her before anyone else can try and commandeer his attention.

The kit has changed slightly from it’s past iteration, with black thread now outlining and decorating the outfit with a wonderful accent. When Dedue puts it on, Mercedes quietly cheers and claps, smiling and letting him know that it’s perfect for the Cup.

As Mercedes packs it up into a garment bag, Dedue gives her thanks and gold for her efforts. She only takes the thanks, placing the gold back into his hands with a smile.

He leaves it on her desk when she isn’t paying attention.

* * *

On Sunday, Dorothea and Ignatz come, and all three of them rest. 

It’s nice. Other people join them. Sylvain ends up paying Ignatz and Bernadetta a lot of money for some art, with Lorenz paying Mercedes for some fabric to use later. Ashe and Dorothea help Dedue in the kitchen, or at least Ashe does and Dorothea jokingly drapes herself over the counter like it’s a grand piano for moral support. Petra and Edelgard end up joining her as Hubert sighs and Ferdinand starts a conversation about the important differences between magenta and plum, a conversation that enraptures Lorenz and Ignatz and causes Claude and Mihail to roll their eyes and simply pass the time playing cards. Lysithea and Cyril are off by themselves, sharing a book together, and in the few glances that Dedue sees as he works, it seems like Cyril is doing a great job at learning how to read the Fodlan language. Mercedes and Annette join, and they’re able to keep Flayn occupied with baking.

When the cooks put out a small testing plate, Raphael eats half of it before Caspar takes it from him and splits the rest of the food evenly. The plate returns empty and full of compliments. Lunch is taken care of, and over time, everyone slowly heads off to complete whatever else they want to do for the day.

When Dedue reaches his room, there’s a note from Hapi on his bed that warns him about a disturbance soon to come in Duscur. He engraves a stone with his thanks and drops it down into Abyss for her to receive.

* * *

On Monday, the night before the Cup, the Duscis run over the dance three times, smoothing out all the timing issues. They stop early so that Mihail can guide them through the correct tunnels that leaves them just outside of the monastery’s line of sight, able to pass themselves off as travelling musicians recruited for the Cup.

Everyone smiles and laughs, feeling prepared for tomorrow.

* * *

Dedue has a nervous vein of energy that seems to run from the top of his head into the bend of his knee as he constantly bounces it under the table. Byleth’s voice, which already has a hard time actually reaching him in the boring space of the classroom, seems like it’s buried now, muffled against his eardrums as they drone on about something that will probably be very important. The church bell tolls, a sign that classes are over for the day, and Byleth finishes speaking. Dedue puts his things together and stands up, not really thinking about what he is doing until there’s a weight on his arm and he looks down to see Ashe standing next to him, right in the doorway of the classroom.

Ashe smiles. “Hey, you’ll be fine. I’ve heard you practicing through the wall and from what I can tell, you’re going to do great.”

“Yeah,” Sylvain says, “you’re plenty graceful. More graceful than Felix at least, and he’d probably win out of spite.”

Felix muttered something incomprehensible under his breath, which everyone in the house knew to mean that he had no point against it.

“Either way,” Ingrid says from the back of the pack, “he needs to go get ready, and maybe he shouldn’t be blocking the door.”

“Oops, sorry. My bad,” Ashe says, blushing as he guides Dedue out of the door frame so that everyone can pass. “But if you want someone else to walk with you to check in your band-”

“That would be nice,” Dedue says with a nod. Ashe lets out a sigh of relief before the two of them start walking towards the marketplace.

It slips Dedue’s mind that Ashe knows the Duscis, and that he’s actively spoken with a few of them. So when they first spot the group of “musicians”, Ashe nearly greets them by name before Dedue lightly places a hand on his shoulder to steal his attention quickly, shaking his head.

The gatekeeper pulled out a ledger as the two walked up to him. “Greetings, Ashe! Greetings, Dedue! I take it that these are the musicians for you?” 

Dedue nods. “Yes, they are.”

“Great,” the knight pulled out a writing utensil. “All I need is name and instrument information for management purposes. If you wouldn’t mind?”

“Adrista Potentiora, singer.”

“Cibor Insone, kora.” The gatekeeper had to look up and actually note what the instrument looked like before he could continue.

“Visurius Saxa-Kato, drums.”

“Towen Resiti, mbira.”

“Baila Resiti, also the mbira.”

“Bryn Ardens, singer.”

“If you need to know,” Dedue interjects, before the gatekeeper could close his journal. “Mihail will also be a singer today.”

The gatekeeper smiles. “Thanks for letting me know. Have a good day, everyone! Good luck at the Cup!”

Dedue thanks him, and the group starts making their way to Dedue’s room, where he’s already set up a small platter of food. He can hear Baila and Ashe whispering to each other as they pass by the fishing pond, excitement still audible in their hushed tones. He himself finds that keeping a cordial and business like demeanor and conversation with Adrista and Cibor is rather difficult.

“Oh for Goddess’ sake!”

And as Ingrid looks angrily through the door of the dining hall, it may just be impossible. Dorothea is right behind her, and her eyes light up at the sight of them as she rushes past the blonde. “Oh wow,” she crows, looking at all of the instruments, “you’re not holding back at all, are you?”

Sylvain is right behind her, and Dedue can see that he’s busy asking Cibor about the kora in his hands, making sure not to actually touch the body or pluck one of the strings.

Dedue shakes his head. “No, I’m not,” he says with a smile that Dorothea matches. “But we need to actually leave and make sure that everyone is on the same page.”

“Of course,” Dorothea says, and it seems like only a few seconds pass before she’s rounding up all of the Garreg Mach students who came to see what was going on and escorting them back into the dining hall. Ashe leaves with them, waving goodbye at Dedue.

When they arrive at Dedue’s room, close the door, and lock it, it’s like a seal is broken, and everyone is hugging each other and everyone is saying words of encouragement in his ear. “Alright,” Adrista says, taking charge of the situation. She waits until everyone has found a seat somewhere before she continues. “Today is important. Not just because it’s the White Heron Cup-”

“Although Dedue will win, probably-”

“Bryn- you’re probably right, but don’t say it yet,” Adrista sighs. “Either way, today is important because Dedue is ready to go through a very important ceremony.”

“Nerves, Adrista,” Dedue jokes, “My heart can only take so much.”

“Oh don’t worry Dedue, this isn’t for you,” Baila tells him as she eats food off of the platter. Towen steals a sandwich from her hand. “This is for the rest of us so we don’t mess up.”

“Yeah, she’s the last person,” Rius says, nodding. “We all gave each other this speech-”

“And I would like to finish it,” Adrista remarks, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Anyways, don’t mess up, listen to Mihail for the calls, and please take this moment, right now, to make sure that everything is in tune.”

They spend the next hour doing just that, with Mihail joining them partway through. They eat and talk and mentally prepare themselves for the performance before there’s a second knock on the door, and Seteth enters the room. “The Cup is going to start in a half hour,” he says. “I’ll need all the musicians to follow me to the spot where you will be playing for Mr. Molinaro. Mr. Molinaro, if you could please head to the Officers Academy and do whatever you need to get ready, I will pick up you and the other dancers at the same time.”

Dedue nods. “Thank you, Seteth.” The other Duscis start finishing their food, cleaning up after themselves, and picking up their instruments. Bryn, Adrista, and Mihail all quickly drink a glass of water before they leave, saying words of encouragement in their native tongue.

Dedue waits for a few moments before he grabs the garment bag and sandals and makes his way to the Blue Lions classroom. It’s empty now, and Dedue quickly changes into his kit, strapping on the sandals and standing up. He does a few stretches to both work out tension and pent up energy and to double check his range of motion one last time. There’s a knock on the classroom door and Dedue opens it to see Dorothea and Ignatz standing there, also ready for the cup.

Ignatz has cleaned up nicely, dressed in a light green suit with black buttons and accent pieces. There are black gloves around his wrist that give off a faint glow, and behind his glasses, Dedue can see that a little bit of eyeliner has been used to make his eyelashes more noticeable.

Dorothea is dressed like she’s the star of the show, with a voluminous red dress that Dedue can’t figure out how she’ll walk, let alone dance in. Her lips are painted in the same color, and she clearly has spent a lot of energy on how she presents herself, guided by the years of experience she’s had in the theater.

“Wow, you look great!” Ignatz says, probably committing his entire ensemble to memory to draw later by how long he spends staring at him.

Dorothea looks impressed. “I like it, it fits you well,” she says, pulling out a small bag from behind her. ”If you want I could give you some makeup? Maybe some eyeliner? Whatever you want.”

Dedue thinks about it for a few seconds before he realizes that he doesn’t have a mirror. “I should probably see myself without makeup first before I make a decision,” he says, and Dorothea smiles.

“I have a mirror set up in the Black Eagles’ room,” she says. “Let’s just hang out together and see what you choose then. It’s cold out here.”

Ignatz looks surprised. “Do you not have warm patches underneath your dress?”

“We tried and the dress started smoldering,” Dorothea lamented, walking back to the Black Eagles classroom.

Dedue shrugs as he follows her, Ignatz right by his side. “I didn’t even know you could do that,” he admits.

“How are you not freezing?” Dorothea asks.

“The earth doesn’t really get cold. The ground may freeze, but it doesn’t do much,” Dedue says simply, following her as she enters the classroom.

“That’s so poetic,” Ignatz mutters to himself.

“A wise man, that’s Dedue,” Dorothea jokes, centering a full body mirror in the middle of the room. “Truly a shame that it can’t get through the heads of some people.”

Dedue smiles at the dig at some of his house members before stepping in front of the mirror and looking at himself. His hair, trimmed last night, was at his shoulders and just barely beginning to coil again. He filled out the outfit he wore well, and now that he’s looking closely at the trim, he notices that every now and then, there’s a small outline of a Duscur bear on the edge of it. He reaches up and parts a small bit of his hair at his temple before he pulls the rest of it back, tying it into his regular ponytail. With the part he hasn’t pulled back, he parts it in half to give him two lengths of hair to twist together. 

When he finishes, the twist falls on the outside of his left eye. It’s very reminiscent of how Aura wore her hair. He makes eye contact with Dorothea in the mirror behind him. “Can I have a little bit of eyeliner?”

Dorothea practically whips out a clean eyebrow pencil and pulls out a chair. “Please take a seat, my muse. I’ve been waiting for moons to see how more handsome you would be with a little bit of makeup.”

* * *

Seteth brings them to a place where they can watch the others dance, but none of the spectators can see them. “We find it helps the performer’s nerves,” he says, and Dedue can’t help but agree.

They draw straws to see who goes first, and soon, Dorothea is strolling into the reception hall, her arrival punctuated by the sounds of the Black Eagles cheering. When they stop, the band starts playing, and Dorothea begins to sing a small aria as she traverses the stage in a well-practiced manner, performing something that is so familiar to her, it’s nearly flawless and all of the mistakes are miniscule enough to where only she could perceive them.

When she returns it’s with a groan. “Manuela is going to eat me alive for that performance,” she says as she takes a seat on the bench.

“It wasn’t bad,” Ignatz says, sharing Dedue’s confusion. “Why would she be upset with you?”

“I was off count no less than 4 times and I completely fumbled a simple exchange of pace,” Dorothea explains, as if it was very obvious. “But you know what? It’s fine. We are fine. You’ll do great!”

“Ignatz,” Seteth calls, “if you could please follow me.”

Ignatz gulps before he stands up and follows them man. As Ignatz enters, Dedue notices something strange. “Where’s his band?”

“He doesn’t have a band?” Dorothea asks, scanning the crowd even more intensely. “Oh Goddess, he doesn’t. What is he thinking?”

Ignatz waves a hand through the air, and the sound of a harp playing answers Dorothea’s question. Ignatz dances in measured steps and motions, visibly looking good and apparently creating the music he’s dancing to. Dedue can see the different moments when people in the crowd catch onto the gloves being the instrument and the perpetual smiles on the faces of each Golden Deer. They cheer when Ignatz finishes and bows, and as he leaves, Dedue notices how attentive the judges are.

When Ignatz returns, they congratulate him before Dedue has to leave. Walking towards the reception hall is somewhat nerve-wracking, and Dedue simply nods when Seteth asks him if he wants to stay behind the doors to start off his dance, too busy focused on the solid ground beneath him to speak.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” he hears Alois shout from behind the doors, “for the last performance, Dedue Molinaro of the Blue Lions will be dancing to a dance from Duscur!”

There’s a light, polite applause, before the sharp crack of a drum silences the crowd. _“Tellus!”_ Mihail shouts, and Dedue slowly lowers himself into _honestum_ , calmly using a bit of the stone floor to slowly push the doors open. _“Veni!”_

A strong drum beat starts playing, and Dedue follows it as he slowly enters the floor, swaying from side to side in the footwork he was so used to from childhood brawls. _Weak, strong, strong, pause, weak strong strong, weak, strong, strong, pause, weak strong strong-_ the sounds of the kora and the mbira join the drumming as Dedue approaches the center of the room, and there’s a gasp at the light and airy sound of the instruments, even as their players play fast melodies on them. 

When Dedue reaches his mark, the drum changes to be a bit lighter, still matching the melodies, but less intense. This is the part of the music that gives Dedue a chance to think about what he’ll do later, if he does want to change things up. He stays over the spot he’s at, his movement now changing course to longer and slower moves that tie into each other. He stomps a bit harder now, his hands serve more purpose in the dance as they move in conjunction with his body, and there are a few moments where as he’s in the middle of a move, his line of sight brushes across the crowd and he sees the smiles of his friends, or the interest of a stranger, or the confusion of another.

He simply continues on, finishing this part of the routine before getting down on one knee, bowed towards the musicians. The instruments start to soften, and Mihail’s voice rings out over them to say the most important part of this entire event: _“Dominus Molinaris, orire!”_

Dedue rises, and the song changes to be full of energy now, with the singers singing a well-known Duscis song of harvest and rewards. As Dedue dances, the drums cut out, and he starts doing the percussion, clapping and stomping in time with the song and adding emphasis where it was obviously supposed to be. There are some moments where when he stomps, small parts of the ground around him shoot up into small pillars that reach up to his knees before sinking back into the ground like they never existed.

As the music started winding down, Dedue found himself back in the center. On the last few beats, he fell back into _honestum_ , and on the last drum beat, loud and pointed, he ended with one leg planted firmly on the ground, balancing himself with the two stones held in outstretched arms.

There was a moment of silence before people started cheering and applauding, and as Dedue put the stones back into the floor of the reception hall, he heard the voices of all the Duscis cheering the loudest. When he looks up, it seems like there are very few people who didn’t like his performance. Annette and Ashe are cheering, Mercedes is clapping, Sylvain gives him a thumbs up, Dimitri smiles and waves at him, and Felix and Ingrid look somewhat less angry. Byleth looks surprised, but pleased, as if this isn’t what they expected to happen, but they’re glad it happened anyway.

As Dedue waited for the other representatives to join him on the dance floor, he looked at the three judges sitting at a table together. All three of them: Alois, Manuela, and Shamir were busy looking down at their papers, which were probably notes that they took during each of the performances.

There was a yell from behind him before he turned around and caught Dorothea as she threw her arms around him. “That was so good!” She shouts. “Iggy would say the same-”

“Iggy-” Ignatz says, panting. “Is tired from running right now. How do you move that fast in heels?”

“It’s a gift,” Dorothea says, before Alois claps his hands together and the entire hall goes silent.

“The judges have made their decision!” He shouts, and almost immediately people start whispering to each other. “We will reveal our choices individually. Manuela?”

“Ah, of course,” Manuela stands up. “I have picked the Blue Lions house. Your performance was exhilarating. I can still feel my heart beating a mile a minute.”

Shamir stood up next. “My vote goes to the Golden Deer,” she says, a small grin on her face. “Your performance was the most innovative.”

Dedue felt Dorothea step in between him and Ignatz, and her hand wormed its way into his. Dedue smiles at her antics and allows her to keep holding his hand.

“Ah,” Alois says when everyone turns to face him, ready to hear who won. “Well, the winner is someone who I’m about to announce-”

“Hurry up and announce it already!” Jeralt shouts over the disappointed crowd.

Alois turned red. “Of course!” He cleared his throat. “The winner of the White Heron Cup is the Blue Lions!”

Dedue hears what Alois said. He feels Dorothea jokingly hold his hand up like he’s the winner of the fight. He sees some of the Blue Lions jump up and start cheering for him. Someone, probably Cibor, yells “Speech! Speech!” and the reception quiets down again.

Dedue still hasn’t really caught up with what’s happened. So, he says, “Is this a joke?” and Dorothea starts laughing at the entire event. Ignatz joins her when it all finally slides into place in Dedue’s head, and he can’t help but shout, “Oh, I really won!”

The dinner goes a lot more smoothly. After he waves “goodbye” to the other Duscis, he finds himself seated next to Ashe, and the archer goes back and forth in between excitedly talking and suddenly turning red and being embarrassed. It’s kind of endearing.

Sylvain drags Ignatz over at some point during the dinner, and in between his excited rambling, and the artist’s embarrassed mumbling, they ask if Ignatz could get a sketch of him to paint later. Ignatz says that he would make him a copy too, and that’s what entices Dedue to say yes.

* * *

The very next day, Dedue receives his dancing kit. It’s very blue and grey and flowy, and he can’t help but wonder why there’s so much loose fabric begging to get caught by a stray object.

He also has the idea to ask why he couldn’t wear what he wore during the Cup, but the memory of Ingrid walking out of the dining hall as the rest of the house celebrated stops him.

* * *

On the 21st, Hapi’s note comes to fruition. Dedue is busy in the greenhouse, calmly tending to a few of the flowers seem to shrink away from him, making themselves smaller. The blue and yellow flower in particular, with it’s now smaller but sharper thorns, visibly folds on itself to hide its face. A green and silver flower seems to wave at him, the red and orange flowers grow taller, and the silver and brown flower seems like it’s frozen still. There’s a gust of air that enters the room, and Mihail’s voice asks Dedue to quickly come to the classroom. Dedue sighs before he puts down the watering can, thanks the greenhouse keeper, and walks out of the greenhouse, towards the Officers Academy.

Dedue opens up the door to an interesting scene in the Blue Lions classroom. Byleth and Dimitri are both reaching for a piece of paper that Mihail holds above his head as he stands on one of the tables. Ingrid and Sylvain are yelling at each other, with Mercedes between them trying to calm them down. Ashe is right in front of the door, held back by Felix as Annette’s yelling at the swordsman. Flynn looks uncomfortable as she squeaks by Dedue, running out of the classroom.

The room slowly starts getting quieter and quieter when each person realizes he’s in the doorway. Dedue scans the room quickly, seeing relieved expressions on some faces and difficult expressions on others. “What is going on?” he asks, choosing to stare at Dimitri.

Dimitri turns an ugly shade of red. “Ah, well we just received word from Kleiman about an issue on his lands,” the prince says. “We were just about to ride off to check it for a mission-”

“Without you or Mihail,” Annette states angrily, staring at Dimitri. “Dimitri, that’s wrong and you know it!”

“Hey,” Felix bites back, “it’s the first time the boar has had a somewhat decent idea for once-”

Dedue is shocked that Felix is defending Dimitri from anyone. The world must be ending. “Am I missing something?”

Ashe worms his way out of Felix’s grip. “There’s apparently a reason that Dimitri wanted to leave without you two, especially considering how hard he was trying to avoid passing around the letter.”

Mihail cackles as he finally looks at the paper, taking advantage of the temporary distraction to read it. “Oh, there’s a reason alright,” he mutters, stepping down from the table. He slaps the parchment onto the table in disgust. “When were you going to tell that Kleiman’s ‘problem’ was a group of Duscis refugees asking him for their homes back?”

Dimitri pales as the entire class stares at him. Mercedes has her hand to her mouth in shock. “Dimitri, please tell me we weren’t about to go chase people away from their homes,” she pleads.

“I mean, it’s not their homes anymore,” Ingrid says. Dedue makes eye contact with Mihail and sees the exact same anger in them that he’s feeling. “It’s legally Kleiman’s-”

“Ingrid, please stop talking,” Sylvain says, looking disgusted. “There’s no way you actually believe that. What would you say if House Galatea was consumed by debt and you lost your home?”

“That’s not going to happen,” Ingris says, her tone suddenly even.

“I bet that’s what those poor people in Duscur thought before we suddenly decided to-”

“Enough!” Byleth shouts, and it’s mostly in surprise that the two actually stop arguing. The professor turns to face the students, the letter clutched in their hands. “Pack your things. We all leave in ten minutes. I’ll let Seteth know where we’re traveling to.”

As the house starts to leave the classroom, Dedue quickly makes his way to Dimitri’s side, walking with him to their dorms. “Dimitri,” he starts gently, not wanting to ruin the opportunity to ask this question, “why were you going to leave Mihail and I behind?”

Dimitri is still somewhat red as he answers. “I thought that this was a bit too personal for you two. I didn’t want to bring up any horrible feelings while in battle.”

Dedue almost asks who he thought they would be battling against, but he already knows that it won’t be Kleiman. Kleiman is a noble aligned with Faerghus and the church, why would Dimitri go against that? In his position, it’s easier for him to target refugees trying to get their homes back, it’s easier to ask one of his friends to kill his abusive and heretical brother, it’s easier to have one of his classmates be involved in the death of his second father figure-

It’s easier to try and push aside the two people who would obviously have an objection to fighting their own people.

When they split up at the dormitories, with Dimitri going upstairs and Dedue going down the hallway, he can’t help but remember some words that Kleiman said a long time ago, when Mihail was petitioning to come to Garreg Mach with them: _“You can’t trust them to not stick up for each other in most cases.”_

* * *

Dedue watches as Mihail parks his horse directly in between the Kingdom soldiers and the Duscis refugees. It’s almost like clockwork as Sylvain gets in between him and the soldiers, displaying his crest and making sure that they could all see his face. If the soldiers are antsy at Sylvain’s presence, they’re confused when Dimitri shows himself.

Kleiman looks delighted. “Your Highness,” he shouts, calmly kneeling in front of the blonx, “thank you for arriving so quickly. If you could please help me run off these hooligans-”

“Now sir,” Mihail says, cutting off the noble, “I know you’re upset about people asking for your stolen land, but you don’t use it, do you?”

There’s a long silence as Kleiman stares at Mihail before his eyes widen. “You!”

“Me,” Mihail says, getting off of his horse. “Now, how would you like to make a bit of gold for land you haven’t even touched?”

Dedue looks around the area where they’re at, and sees the overgrown grasses and weeds, the trees that have fallen from years of weathering. There’s simply no possible way for the noble to have used this land for anything.

Kleiman’s face is stuck in an expression of anger and confusion. “What are you talking about?”

“Your family rose to power because of better farming practices,” Mihail explained. “If you want more money for research, Dimitri and I could make it worth your while to allow these people to go home.”

“Yes!” Dimitri says, circling around to join Mihail in front of the noble. “For the time you’ve had this land and haven’t used it, it would probably be better if the three of us come together to find what would be best for everyone. Hopefully you can help be a great start for the rebuilt relationship between Faerghus and Duscur.”

Kleiman looks like he’s about to have a heart attack with every word that Dimitri says, but he clears his face and bows. “Of course, Your Highness. It wouldn’t be chivalrous otherwise,” says, standing back up again. “If you and your friend-”

“The Duscis Ambassador-”

“Of course, sir Ambassador,” Kleiman says with a pained expression on his face. “If you two would please follow me back into my humble home, we can talk about this in greater detail.”

“We would love to,” Dimitri says. “Professor, would you like to join us? We’ll need a representative of the church as a neutral party.” Byleth shrugged, and soon the three were off towards the Kleiman estate, leaving the rest of the Blue Lions behind with the Kingdom soldiers to help keep the peace until they returned.

Dedue notices that some of the refugees are translating everything said to the others, mostly to the smaller kids who were most likely born or barely three years old at the time of the Murder. One of the little one’s voices carries as they ask, _“Nunc possumusne ire domus nostrorum?” (Are we now able to go to our homes?)_

It brings a smile to Dedue’s face, and he calmly gets off of his horse and hands the reins over to Sylvain. _“Mox, liberi,”_ he shouts back, and it seems like the sun is even brighter when the group of refugees actually see him for the first time and start excitedly whispering to each other. Dedue can catch little gasps of excitement, of disbelief, and of anticipation, and he wonders for a moment what life was like for this small village, being so close to Kleiman. _(Soon, children.)_

An older man with braided blond hair, light chestnut skin, and scrounged up armor colored in golds and browns, with some blue detailing that could only be done by a _luctis_ , slowly makes his way towards the students as they finish settling down, horses and carriages off to the side. Dedue nods and bows when he approaches. _“Salve, ductor.” (Greetings, Leader.)_

_“Salve, bonus vir,”_ the man replies in a gravelly voice. It’s the sound of home again. _“Dice mihi. Quis homo stat pro mei?” (Greetings, good man. Tell me, what man stands in front of me?)_

_“Sum Dedue Molinaro ex Silvae,”_ Dedue says, voice bordering the line between overwhelmed and proud, _“Dominus Gentis Molinaris, Telli et Terrae. Quis ductor stat pro mei?” (I am Dedue Molinaro, head of House Molinaro, of the earth. What leader stands in front of me?)_

_“Sum Icarin Espositis, Dominus Gentis Espositis, Ductor Urbis Novenae, Populi.”_ The man, Icarin, says easily as he takes a seat on the ground. Dedue straightens up and joins him. _“Do gratias tibi, Dedue. Quod est omnis me possum dare tibi.” (I am Icarin Espositis, head of Hose Espositis, Leader of the city of Novena, of the people. I give you my thanks, Dedue. It is all I am able to give you.”_

_“Sum felix dari quod,”_ Dedue says. _“Possumne iuvare te?” (I am happy to be given it. Can I help you?)_

“Well,” Icarin says, switching over to Fodlanese, “that depends. What do you want to do to help us?”

The question throws him off for a few moments. “I want to help you wherever I can,” he ends up answering. “However you may want my help.”

Icarin chuckles. “That’s good,” he says. “Part of me was worried when I saw you and the other sibling arrive. Especially in such Faerghan clothing.”

Dedue scans the man’s armor again, finding the shape and make of it to be lacking Duscis influence. “I suppose you thought we would think badly about our own people?”

“I wouldn’t blame you if you did,” the _ductor_ responds with a sigh. “For sometime after the Murder, I had those thoughts in my head. Why weren’t we stronger? What made us weaker? I even renounced _Bellum_.”

“What changed your mind?” Dedue asks, curious.

Icarin turns back and glances over his shoulder. “I missed people,” he says. “I was on the run for too long. I was too scared to think against the Kingdom. I realized all of that.” He faces back forward, a stronger smile on his face. “Tell me, Dedue, do you and the other one trust Dimitri?”

That’s a difficult question to answer still. Time changes, and Dimitri does too. When Dedue thinks that Dimitri is too far gone, the blond does something to show that he has sense. When he thinks that Dimitri is on his side, the prince does something to make him question that. “Not as a friend,” he answers.

“So, what do you trust him as?”

“Someone who means well, but refuses to act towards it.”

“And why do you say that?” Icarin asks, and Dedue tells him everything in summary. The little chats he’s had with Ingrid and Felix when they force him into a corner. Dimitri’s optimism even as he does mostly nothing. The celebratory dinner ruined. The choice to try and leave them back at the monastery.

“...So I can’t trust him to do the right thing, but he shows some promise,” Dedue says, sighing.

Icarin hums, nodding. “I’m glad you’re thinking about everything. I’m relieved you aren’t blindly following him.”

“Would that even be possible?” Dedue asks.

“Anything seems to be possible,” Icarin says with a shrug. “Perhaps if things were different, you would willingly place yourself at his beck and call and nothing else would change. Let’s focus on the now.”

“And how do we do that?”

“Well-” Icarin cuts himself off, staring at something over Dedue’s shoulder. “I think the silver-haired one is trying to get your attention.”

Dedue turns around and sees Ashe standing awkwardly off to the side, and chuckles as he waves the archer over. “You wouldn’t mind him joining us, right?”

Icarin spots the silver-haired teen awkwardly smiling at him and smiles. “Of course I wouldn’t, he seems nice,” he answers, nodding at Ashe as he joins them. “Greetings. What is your name?”

“I’m Ashe, sir,” Ashe answers, nodding back with far too much force. “I just wanted to ask if everyone is okay right now.”

“Ah, I take it he’s one of your friends, Dedue?” Icarin asks. At Dedue’s nod, Icarin motions to one of the people still in the group of refugees, and they hurry over as fast as they could in their robes. “Solas,” Icarin says with a respectful nod, “please guide Ashe to the others and see if they need any help. Is there anyone else who wants to check on them?”

“Uh,” Ashe looks back at the Blue Lions, and Dedue follows his gaze to see Sylvain, Annette, and Mercedes waving at them.

“Did you get permission yet?” Sylvain shouts, hands cupped together.

Ashe looks like he doesn’t fully know how to present the three. “Them,” he says weakly, “Mercedes is a talented healer, and Annette and Sylvain are really smart.”

Icarin and Solas start laughing, and Dedue smiles at Ashe as the archer’s blush gets worse. “Let’s get them then, shall we?” Icarin says, clambering back up into a standing position, the helmet with horns attached to his side by a belt. One of the children scramble over with a walking stick and hand it off to the man, who thanks them in Duscis. It takes a little bit of time, but soon Mercedes is working with a few of the children to heal over small bruises and injuries, relying on some of the older ones to translate and help her communicate. Sylvain and Annette work with the ground and some magic and make a few balls for people to throw around that became a hit with some of the teens, who started laughing and running as they played around with them.

Ashe and Dedue were helping some people with longer hair fully clean and take care of it. After they would use a little bit of soap to clean it and rinse it out, the two of them would work together to braid it. Sometimes, Dedue had to help Ashe position his fingers correctly and guide him through the actual motions, but soon the past thief’s future hands are accurate and nimble as they work through braids after braids.

“You’re doing rather well,” Dedue notes, finishing up the last braid for a woman. “Your parting is excellent.”

“Thanks!” Ashe says, blushing and looking away. “I think I have it down now. But this isn’t the only thing you can do with hair, right? Your hair was different during the Cup.”

“It was,” Dedue says, tapping the woman’s shoulder to let her know that she was done. “Maybe I’ll let you practice on me one day when we go back to the monastery.”

“I couldn’t do that!” Ashe says, looking concerned at the idea.

“Why not?” Dedue asks, “You’re doing a great job now. You will do well.”

There’s a long silence as Ashe faces Dedue with a complicated expression on his face. “Do you really believe that?” he asks.

Dedue smiles and nods. “Of course. When we get back, I can teach you how to-”

“Who attacked me?!”

Dedue immediately reacted, standing up and looking out towards where Ingrid sat on her pegasus, one head rubbing the back of her hand and the other head tightly gripping a sword. She brandishes it at one of the Duscis teens. “Was it you? Did you throw that weapon at me?”

The teen started stammering, and as Dedue started walking over, he saw Sylvain quickly ride out to meet her. “Hey Ingrid, calm down, it’s just a ball that Annette and I made,” he says, holding out his hands as he got in between her and the teen. “No need to scare people.”

“They attacked me, Sylvain!” Ingrid shouts, trying to guide her pegasus around him without taking off into the air. He knew her well enough to stop the attempt, still staying in front of her. Dedue caught up to the teen and quickly checked him over before urging him to rejoin the other refugees as quickly as he could. When Dedue caught up to the rest of the Blue Lions, there was yet another argument brewing.

“You can’t even defend your friend when she’s hurt, Gautier?” Felix asks, hand on his own sword. “That’s pathetic.”

“What’s pathetic is jumping to conclusions so quickly!” Annette roars back, absolutely unafraid against the swordsman.

“It’s not a bad jump if there’s logic behind it!” Ingrid says, still trying to get around Sylvain. “Faerghus and Duscur have been at war ever since the Tragedy!”

“What war?” Dedue asks, confused. “There hasn’t been any major issues between our countries until the Murder-”

“Our countries?” Ingrid asks, looking at him with a disgusted expression. “Dimitri saved you from that wreck, you should be glad Faerghus was nice enough to take you in and claim you as one of ours.”

Dedue’s mind goes blank for a few seconds at Ingrid’s words. “Is that a joke?” he asks, staring right back at the pegasus knight. “I was chased by a mob of drunk men my first year in Fhirdiad. Faerghus soldiers were about to murder me in the streets of my own village before Dimitri stepped in front of me. Faerghus hasn’t taken me in, not willingly.”

Ingrid’s eyes narrowed, and her pegasus launched into the air. Mercedes stepped in the middle of the group. “Guys, please, we don’t need to fight,” she pleads. “Can we please just take a second to calm down-”

“Felix!” Ingrid shouts from her perch, “Are you with me?”

Felix unsheathed his silver sword, brandishing it in front of him. “I am,” he says simply, staring at the group of refugees.

Dedue steps in the middle of his line of sight. “What are you two doing?!” he shouts, looking up at Ingrid as she becomes a dot in the sky.

“Defending ourselves!” Ingrid says before she cups her hands together. “Knights of Faerghus, listen well. House Galatea will reward you for your service today in aiding me defend myself from these harmful instigators!”

The few troops still around perked up at the thought of being rewarded, and Dedue’s eyes widened as they all started falling into formations. _“Defendete!”_ Dedue shouts in warning, watching as some of the healthier and more able-bodied refugees start circling on the outside of the group. He turns back to face the small army now led by Ingrid and Felix. Sylvain sighs as he rides up next to him.

“Do you want any help?” The redhead asks. Dedue nods, and Sylvain rides out, positioning himself in a way that protects another portion of the group. Ashe nods at Dedue as he places himself directly in front of the group, bow at the ready. Annette and Mercedes are on the other side of him, hands held up and ready to start casting.

It’s almost sad how ready Dedue was when the first Kingdom soldier charged at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Therapy! Or at least a very rudimentary version. Why do we not just have a therapy mechanic in FE3H with all that's going on-
> 
> Dedue and Dorothea friendship to the end of the earth, idc idc. They make each other laugh and bring up each other's self esteem and thats what they need.
> 
> Fun fact: I actually did the math for every written fight in this chapter. That means I plotted out all the abilities, average stats, weapons, hit, avoid, crit, crit avoid, attack speed, and weight!
> 
> Also, Jeralt is a terrifying unit. He has decent stats and his personal ability gives -6 Str AND Def for a turn if he hits. Also, he's a travelling mercenary, he probably knows a bit about other countries and their fighting styles.
> 
> I love Betting Pools as a Trope. This was specifically written For Me and I will admit it.
> 
> Flayn and Seteth show up again, and I just think they're neat. Simple conversations on working through trauma and allowing yourself to breathe. Also, Seteth nearly giving up the game.
> 
> Dreams. They're such a weird thing.
> 
> Sylvain has character progression. This is actually one of the things I hated about his character in-game, because he realizes that he's a horrible person and then doesn't work to change it. Like, the game rewards him for being a garbage misogynist and it's gross.
> 
> Lmao, yeah, even though Dorothea doesn't like Ingrid, she will not stand for a garbageman mistreating a woman. She's ideologically consistent, at least.
> 
> The bets pay out! (Fun fact: I'll probably never mention it, but Claude told Cyril to bet on Mihail, so Cyril bet on Dedue out of spite.)
> 
> I want the three representatives to be cordial. Dorothea's story may come from personal experience.
> 
> *cough cough* I'm equating the stagnant, identical in-game waltzes to respectability politics and the covert racism of white supremacy *cough cough*
> 
> War Kids!!! I've been waiting to give Towen and Baila a scene and they just nailed this one!
> 
> Planning and Getting Ready for the Cup. Dedue's dancing outfit is based on one I wore for what I remember me and my friends calling "low-budget Afropunk" the summer of 2019, which was really just a long dashiki (a West African garment that in America is one of the many symbols of "blackness" and going to back to a person's roots) and leggings (although my color theme was black and gold). The kora is a stringed instrument that's also West African in nature, and you could compare it's sound to a harp. The mbira is what kalimbas actually are and deserve more respect as a traditional instrument.
> 
> Dimitri. Whatever will I do with you lmao.
> 
> The Cup! I'm also glad I got to write the gatekeeper in, best character. Adrista's pep talk, actually getting ready. For their dances, I really think that Dorothea would be the most traditional. Ignatz's dance is actually based around [ Imogen Heap's Mi.Mu gloves](https://youtu.be/7oeEQhOmGpg), gloves that work with software to actually create music and be their own instrument.
> 
> Dedue's dance has multiple touchstones, found in [this playlist](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoRxqxF2Mmg4Y6qmbzX-Kb7nPcCpH55rh). In short, I worked with Botswanian tribal dances, capoeira, step/stroll shows, and lgbt/queer poc ballroom to put everything together, just to really hit the vibe of panafricanism.
> 
> Ngl, I have criticisms about a few ingame class outfits (mostly the female ones because that is too much leg to be safe in battle) but I am just concerned with how easy it would be for a weapon to just catch in the flowing fabric.
> 
> Dimitri..... Dimitri is the kind of person who isn't consciously racist, but definitely has underlying biases that he just will not accept he has. And as stated in story, Dimitri has very little reason to go against Kleiman.
> 
> If there's two things Mihail can do, it's annoy racists and think quickly. Icarin is actually based off of the Duscur general in Dedue's paralogue, and I like how their conversation went.
> 
> Is Ingrid and Felix a represenation of the "thin blue line" in America? If I speak-
> 
> Yes, I am leaving you here on a hiatus. *blows kiss*


	16. (Author's Note)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sorry, I know I'm breaking my rules)

Hello!

I know, I'm breaking my hiatus, but today is a very important day: Dedue Molinaro's birthday.

Now, to celebrate this, I have three (3), count em, THREE (3!), pieces of content to share with y'all [here](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1902901).

The first one is an essay on canon and fanon racism, along with what would make fanon works actually "transformative". The second is a little bonus content for auditum parvum. And the third is a cute one shot directly for Dedue's birthday that can technically be considered an au of this au!

Either way, have fun, you funky little readers, stay safe, wear a mask in public, keep your grades up if you need to, and I'll actually see you all on November 21st.

Thanks,

Mercury.


	17. White Clouds: Eximus Faergho

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eximus Faergho: we leave/exit from Faerghus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all. Let's have a serious chat before we start this chapter.
> 
> After this chapter, auditum parvum is going to be on hiatus here on Ao3. I don't plan on deleting the fic right now, but I will not be posting any new chapters after this.
> 
> This is due to a recent situation involving a real-life minor that can be described in better detail with [this Twitter thread (CW: CSEM)](https://twitter.com/LOVELYONEEE333/status/1326962791685697539). I have my own nuanced opinion about Ao3 (generally that it's good that it protects fan works and helps make art more accessible to people but I think that it needs to be more active in moderation so that situations like this don't occur), but as of right now, I don't feel comfortable with having my work on this site. I'm still keeping this account and all of the works on it active because I want to see if Ao3 and the OTW put out an official statement, and what that statement is, before I make any permanent decisions about the venue where my work is to be shared.
> 
> So, what does that mean for auditum parvum?
> 
> I've actually started cross-posting onto fanfiction.net ([right here](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13746035/1/Auditum-Parvum)), and since the first two guideline rules they have you look at basically boil down to are, "Do Not Fucking Embarrass Us With Poor Grammar," I've also been editing the chapters ass I repost them. Honestly, I like the version on fanfiction more, as now that I've been able to go back, look at it, and edit it with more experience and knowledge, both in writing and the universe of auditum parvum, I feel like the narrative flows better, there's less awkward tense changes, and the things that I've added and changed already work better, and I'm nowhere near the White Heron Cup.
> 
> So although I will not be posting anymore chapters here, I will be posting daily chapters on fanfiction until I've caught up to this chapter, and then I'll post new chapters on fanfiction as if I was posting on here. If I do return to Ao3, I'll update all the old chapters with their newest counterparts, do daily posts until all is equal, and then just update both sites at the same time.
> 
> If you have any questions, feel free to ask me on my tumblr: mercurialcomet. Feel free to enjoy the last chapter of White Clouds.

Dedue throws up his shield just in time to block the sword strike against him, only getting a bruise from the force of the blow. The pegasus knight flies out of his range before Dedue can retaliate, and Dedue looks down to see a mage and an archer run up and aim at him. They fire from a distance, and Dedue can barely feel the archer's arrow as it grazes his skin, but the fire of the mage seems to burn the ground around him before it starts trying to attack him directly. When he pats himself out and looks up again, he sees that Ingrid and Felix are slowly getting closer, organizing the bulk of the small militia.

Dedue watches as Ashe quickly pulls out an iron bow and aims, shooting the mage and dispatching them. Dedue looks back up into the sky and sees the pegasus knight still circling around, turning back to Ashe. "Can I throw you?"

"What?" Ashe asks, nocking another arrow. "Like, in the air? Sure."

Dedue holds out his hands, reaching into the ground beneath Ashe and creating a solid platform. "Get ready," he warns, throwing up his arms and launching the ground and the archer into the air so that he was directly at the same height as the pegasus knight. Ashe's arrow takes out one of the wings, and the soldier is forced to retreat and drop out of the skies. Dedue uses a bit more of the earth to help catch Ashe as he falls, returning the temporary platform back to where it was and grunting as he actually caught the archer, the bow landing somewhere near them.

Dedue quickly checks Ashe over. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Ashe says, clambering out of Dedue's arms and unslinging his venin bow. "Look out!"

Two archers fire their arrows, and Dedue dodges one and feels the other one scrape against his leg. A brawler ran up to engage with Dedue, and in the scuffle, Dedue dodges and deflects the man's punches before retaliating with one good kick. In the background, he hears Sylvain's horse neighing and the sound of a harsh _thwack_ , as if the wooden length of the lance had smacked someone on the side of the head. The sound of Annette and Mercedes' magic was also audible, and Dedue felt the presence of a warm blanket as the priest's healing sapped away some of the pain from the fire from earlier.

Dedue quickly scanned the grounds, realizing that two cavalry soldiers were making their way to the group. With hurried steps, he ran and quickly equipped one of his killer knuckles, using the ground beneath him to practically throw himself through the closest soldier with a rushing blow, landing behind the other soldier with the sound of a horse's screech behind him.

As he reorients himself, he hears a very familiar war cry before Ingrid suddenly drops down from the sky with a vengeful strike. It bashes against his shield, and Dedue shrugs off the vibrations of the shield running down his body and aiming one punch to perfectly throw the blond off of her mount. There was a sharp pain, and Felix's sword flashed as it sunk into Dedue's gut. After a beat, Dedue looked up to see a snarl on Fraldarius' face. Dedue made direct eye contact as he grabbed the myrmidon's wrist, pulled the sword out, and kicked the man's ankle.

There is a sound of horse hooves galloping before Sylvain shouts, "Sorry Felix, I'm gonna need you to move!" With a glow of the Gautier Crest, Sylvain's lance slugs into Felix's gut. As the three old friends continue scuffling as best as they could, Annette joins in with defensive gusts of wind. Dedue disengages, backing up and beginning to calmly guide the refugees farther away from the soldiers as the wound at his side is bleeding.

Icarin looks concerned as he whispers a prayer in Duscis and Dedue can feel a bit of warmth cover the wound and start slowly healing it. " _Do gratias tibi,"_ Dedue says, nodding to him before continuing to help defend the other Duscis and keep them out of harm's way. He hears Ashe's bowstring continually firing as he follows behind them, and every now and then, Dedue glances and warns Ashe of a Kingdom soldier who may be in the archer's blind spot.

Ashe's arrow knocks the last soldier off of her pegasus when Dimitri and Mihail gallop in on the prince's horse. Dimitri looks angry, shouting, "Halt!" in a voice befitting a war general. "What is the meaning of this? You were ordered to stand down and not draw your weapons."

"Your Highness," A knight says, cowering under the gaze of the blond. "We were defending the Lady Galatea-"

"Defending her from what?"

"From the Duscur refugees, Your Highness. She said that they attacked her."

Behind Dimitri, Mihail rolled his eyes. "What was she allegedly attacked with?"

"I was attacked with some item thrown at me," Ingrid answers defensively. "One of the men threw it at me with harmful intentions."

"You weren't even paying attention!" Annette yells, stomping her foot. "One of the younger kids was playing around with a ball and accidentally hit you."

"The ball was made of steel," Felix interjects, obviously lying.

"Right," Sylvain cut in, "Because you saw me and Annette dig up steel to make those. Or melt down my lance. I know you don't spend that much time outside of the training grounds, but wow that's naive-"

"How dare you even think about calling me naive-"

"Felix," Dimitri's authoritative tone is back as he speaks. "Stand down. This is a simple conversation, not a battle-" Dedue makes eye contact with him at the moment, and he can see him visibly react to the blood seeping through his dancer's kit with shock. "Dedue," he calls over, and everyone flinches at the anger in his voice, "who wounded you?"

Dedue silently looks over at Felix, and Dimitri's eyes narrow. "Knights of Faerghus, if you would please hold Lady Galatea and Lord Fraldarius in relative confinement, I will think about excusing your horrid behavior today". The knights immediately get to work removing the two from the area and it takes a few moments of angry shouting and Felix struggling for him and Ingrid to be sequestered from the immediate area. Dimitri sighs and rubs his temple as Mihail dismounts from the horse and rushes over.

Mihail's eyes track and scan Dedue over in an instant. " _Esne bonus?" (Are you good?)_

" _Sum bonus,"_ Dedue says with a nod, the sharp pain of the wound dulled down to practically nothing now. " _Da gratias tuum illi vir." (I'm good. Thank this man.)_

Mihail looks up and notices Icarin still calmly working on his prayers, and to Dedue's surprise, the two not only seem to recognize each other, but fall into such an easy conversation about what happened since the last time they spoke a few years back, just before Mihail and his parents met the late king for community talks.

He's able to listen in for the short while that it takes until Dimitri asks for his attention. Excusing himself, he stands up and walks towards the prince. "Yes, Dimitri?"

"Please, tell me what happened," Dimitri says, sighing and shaking his head. "I believe I have an accurate read of the situation, but I trust your words."

"Alright," Dedue says with a nod, taking a deep breath before he starts. "I was talking to the leader of the refugees and helping to aid in cleaning and washing them up. When I became aware of everything that was happening, Ingrid was shouting about how she was attacked, and Sylvain and Annette both let her know it was an accident."

Dimitri looks disappointed. "That's what they told me," he says, frowning. "And was it at that moment that Felix joined her in support and she called for the knights?"

"I believe so," Dedue answers, voice even.

Dimitri sighs, his hand going up to meet his forehead. "Thank you, Dedue. Could you please lead me to the refugee leader?"

Dedue quickly scans over the prince, and he's somewhat surprised to see very little anger. The prince seems remorseful, shaking his head slightly, probably in shame. "Of course, Dimitri," Dedue says softly as he leads him to Icarin and Mihail, nodding his head at the elder. " _Ductor Icarin_ , please allow me to introduce to you Prince Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd, of Faerghus."

Dimitri takes his cue and also nods. "Please, allow me to apologize for the actions of my friends, sir _Ductor_ ," he pleads, and Icarin looks at the prince for a few moments in silence.

"Please, Prince Dimitri, look at me," he says lightly, with a twinkle in his eye that directly contrasts how down-fallen Dimitri looks. "What are you apologizing for?"

"I am apologizing for the actions-"

"Aht aht," Icarin lightly scolds Dimitri, "Did you commit those actions?"

Dimitri's shoulders seem to sink even lower. "No," he admits, "but this isn't the first time that those two have acted in such a way and I failed to reprimand them earlier."

"So what are you truly apologizing for?"

There's a silence as the question hangs in the air. Dimitri opens and closes his mouth a few times before he actually answers. "I am apologizing for not doing more to actively change people's perspective on Duscur. I- I knew about how strongly some felt and I didn't do enough to counter that."

Icarin has the faintest smile on his face. Dedue is shocked that it's taken this long for Dimitri to be aware of the actual issue. "Now, how will you work to fix it?"

Dimitri sighs. "I don't know," he admits. "I don't think it's such a simple thing. How am I supposed to address a topic this big?"

"Has the way you've been addressing it worked?" Icarin asks. "Considering how quickly your soldiers pulled out their weapons, I assume it hasn't. So maybe try something else. Surely you can work to dissuade such ugly behavior."

Dimitri nods, obviously lost in thought. Dedue calmly smiles at Icarin, who smiles back at him. "Besides, _Legatus Mihail_ has told me that Sir Kleiman has agreed to allow us back into our homes, and I would love to clean up all of the dust that must be lying in my room."

"Thank you, _Ductor_ ," Dedue says, bowing again. "If you need any help, please send word to me at Garreg Mach."

"And if Kleiman chooses to act in a manner that is unbefitting, please send word to me as well," Dimitri says, also bowing. "I hope that in spite of the actions of some Kingdom citizens, we can work together to help rebuild ties between our nations."

"Ah, you'll have to talk to the _Legatus_ about that, prince of Faerghus," Icarin says with a softer smile. "That's what he's in charge of, considering that no one has really stepped up after the deaths of his parents. I spend too much of my time focusing on more local matters to be of any help to global connections."

"Of course, I will keep that in mind. Do you require any help getting to your house?"

"Now that you mention it-"

* * *

The ride back to the monastery started awkwardly. Dedue shared a horse with Ashe, the two of them calmly in conversation with Mihail, purposefully ignoring the glare on Ingrid's face. There are a bunch of little awkward spots on this ride. Dimitri's own horse is constantly wavering as Dimitri is lost in thought until Byleth ties the horse's reins to their own to help guide it. Ingrid angrily hovers over everyone like a stormcloud. Annette and Mercedes are busy giggling as they talk about helping the little kids, with Sylvain joining in the conversation every now and then, ignoring the glare that Felix sports from behind him.

The group can see the village just outside of Garreg Mach in the distance before the awkward, yet peaceful quiet is shattered by the tongue of someone who only knows how to wield a sword. "Hey, dog-"

"Felix!" Annette snaps, immediately staring down the swordsman. "What is wrong with you?"

Felix scoffs. "Am I wrong? The boar's lapdog may be off the leash right now, but he's obviously returned."

Dedue glances over to see that Dimitri is still lost in his head, and Byleth is too busy trying to get the prince out of it that they won't be any help here. So he sighs before he asks a question to rattle Felix. "What do you have against me?"

"What are you talking about?"

Dedue gives Mihail a look before he slows his horse down to ride next to Sylvain and Felix. "You obviously have something against Dimitri, that's why you call him what you do," he says, "You have something against Mihail, even if it is-"

Felix's lip curls. "Even if it's what?"

"Not something I think I'll fight in," Dedue retorts. "But we never even speak. We rarely interact. Why are you so toxic towards me, specifically?"

"You act as if I even think about you," Felix says derisively, and Sylvain looks like he's about to say something before Dedue stares him down. "You're too insignificant for me to waste my time on."

"And yet you've come up with a specific insult towards me," Dedue notes, forcing down his smirk. "That's more than many other people you think are beneath you."

There's a pause as Felix is obviously thinking about it, and Sylvain takes this moment to leap in. "Actually, now that I think about it, what do you have against the both of them? Or against us?" he asks, mostly to himself. "I remember when we were kids you were always wanting to hang out with us, practically cry-"

"Shut up Gautier," Felix snaps. "I remember you being too weak to deal with your brother when we were kids, but you don't see me bringing it up now."

"Is it so troublesome," Mercedes interjects, angry as she forces her horse in between the two horses already there. "So difficult, to not rise to every word like it's an attack?"

"Every word is an attack," Felix answers snidely, "they're just too lazy to actually draw their weapons."

"Do you really believe that?" Dedue asks.

"What?" Felix snaps, and for a split second Dedue thinks that he can see something slip on the younger man's face. "Of course I believe that, I've been a witness to too many stupid deals and meetings, like the one involving Glenn-"

"Felix," Ingrid cuts in, her voice hard as steel, "what are you talking about? If you're talking about my engagement-"

"Oh, of course, because everyone is always talking about you no matter what, Ingrid," Felix says, turning around to stare at her. "You're so insufferable, you must be aware of that, right? You're so stuck in your notions of chivalry that you didn't even bother listening to him as he practically begged you to think for yourself."

"Oh, and what can you say?" Ingrid replies. "You've been miserably hunting for His Highness' attention ever since Duscur ruined everything. It almost makes me think that your childhood adoration for him-"

"Enough," Sylvain says, not even bothering to look back. "It sucks that my friends are tearing themselves apart-"

"You can't even call us friends!" Both Felix and Ingrid shout at the same time. From the sounds of confused noises, it seems that Byleth and Dimitri have finally noticed what was going on. "You've always been weak, crying over your Crest and the attention it gave you," Felix practically spat. "Although I wouldn't be surprised if there's already a little brat running around with the Gautier Crest already."

Dedue sees Sylvain's eyes narrow as he brings his horse to a stop. "Get off."

"Wha-"

"Get off of my horse, Felix," Sylvain says, still not turning around. "In fact-" In a flash of movement, Sylvain turns and shoves Felix off the side of his horse, forcing the swordsman onto the ground. "Don't talk to me."

"Sylvain!" Ingrid cries, lowering herself down in her pegasus to help Felix get back up. "How could you treat him like that?"

"You're joking, right?" Sylvain asks, now facing the rest of the group. "Did you not hear him?"

"I mean, you are insatiable," Ingrid says off-handedly. "It is a bit of a stretch, but-"

"But what?"

"But maybe you should think about how others see your insufferable flirting!" Ingrid shouts, obviously annoyed. "You would think that a person who apparently would hate to be used for his Crest flaunts it like a carrot on a stick-"

Sylvain angrily huffs and spurs his horse forward, leaving the group behind as he enters the village. Mercedes, Annette, and Mihail all follow him, concerned looks on their faces. Felix scoffs as he gets onto Ingrid's pegasus. As Byleth and Dimitri catch up and start asking what happened, Dedue simply tells Dimitri the basics, with Ashe filling in whatever details he missed.

As they start to arrive at the monastery, Dedue thinks about the last question he asked Felix. It seems like it sparked bad memories and harsh words that were quick to be said.

At the very least, it seems as if at least Felix and Ingrid share some beliefs with how quickly they tore into Sylvain. Dedue wonders what else was about to be said, if no one had stopped talking.

* * *

Seteth greets them at the gate with a sigh and an impassioned, "Please, go to your classroom quickly."

The five of them follow him to the Blue Lions classroom, dropping the horses off by the stables and placing weapons in the knights hall on the way. When they enter the classroom, Dedue can see that Annette, Mercedes, and Mihail are already seated, talking to each other before they realize that the door is open. There are a few moments where everyone is looking at each other before an annoyed sigh from Seteth forces everyone to take their seats. Dedue shares a table with Dimitri again, looking past the sad blond to see Mihail and Ashe whispering to each other.

"Professor Eisner," Seteth says, suddenly at the front of the room, "Could you please let the archbishop know that you've returned."

Byleth nodded before they left the room, leaving the students behind. Seteth waits a few moments before he sighs again, leaning back against the desk at the front of the classroom. "Well," he starts, glancing around the classroom, "where do I even begin. Who wants to try and tell me an accurate version of what happened?"

The room is silent. Dedue feels the glare Felix aims at the back of his head.

Seteth sighs again. "Mr. Fraldarius, if you could please stop displaying murderous intent, that would be lovely. As for the situation," he continues, steepling his fingers, "luckily I have already heard all of the information I needed to hear. Does anyone have any questions before I begin? Ms. Galatea?"

"Where's Sylvain?" Ingrid asks, putting her hand back down. "I saw his horse in the stables, but he isn't here."

"Mr. Gautier is currently on the monastery grounds, perfectly safe," Seteth answers. "He's currently working through some personal harms quite recently inflicted upon him."

"What harms?" Felix asks, scoffing.

Seteth's lip curls. "2 days of sauna duty and a trip to my office this week, Mr. Fraldarius. I would hope that you can be a bit more compassionate for a fellow student's misery."

"Why am I supposed to baby the weak?" Felix says, rolling his eyes. "If the fool didn't want to hear it, he should've worked to change his behavior-"

"He was!" Mercedes snaps, standing up. "Sylvain and I have had some talks at the edges of the cathedral, and although he's been slowly doing better, something happened and he's suddenly doing so much better!" There is the whisper of a tear in her eyes, and Dedue wonders how deep the conversations were. "He didn't make one deprecating comment about himself the last time we spoke. Was he harsh on himself? Yes. But he was doing so much better." Mercedes seemed to realize how she was glaring at Felix at the end of her rant, and she sits down without saying anything else to him. "I apologize, Seteth. Please, carry on."

Seteth looks slightly concerned, but nods anyway. "Of course, Ms. Martritz. Anyway, I have heard enough about that particular matter, so as consequences of their own actions Mr. Fraldarius and Ms. Galatea have an extra day of sauna duty for antagonizing a fellow classmate. Now, about why you left the monastery in the first place," Seteth continues, "I have heard some truly disturbing news about it. Although I am glad about the rebuilding of ties between countries, I am also very concerned about how I've also heard reports of people attacking unarmed refugees."

"They weren't unarmed," Ingrid argues, "I had an object thrown at me."

"Ms. Galatea," Seteth starts, "you wear armor. A wooden ball is not going to harm you."

Ingrid angrily huffs and crosses her arms. The door opens and Flayn quickly rushes in, hands a piece of parchment to Seteth, and rushes back out again. Seteth reads it over and gives a small sigh of relief. "Mr. Molinaro and Mr. Vessyl, would you please join me outside of the classroom? I want the rest of you to stay here for a moment."

Dedue made eye contact with Mihail as the two of them stood up, wondering what was going to happen next. Seteth kept an even expression on his face as they all walked out to the courtyard of the Officers Academy, where the two students took a seat on the bench.

Seteth crouches down, squatting to stay at eye level with the two. "You two are not in trouble," he starts, and Dedue feels that annoying sense of relief at the fact that Seteth believes them. "In fact, I am deeply concerned with how atrocious that certain members of your house are currently acting."

"As am I," Dedue says, sharing another look with Mihail. "When I was defending the refugees, both Felix and Ingrid purposefully targeted me with attacks."

Like clockwork, Dedue watches Seteth's eyes land on the patch of his dancer robes that were still stained red. "Are either of them responsible for that?" he asks after a few moments. voice low and nearly growling.

Dedue is stunned at the switch in demeanor, where just moments ago, Seteth was a mostly put together, if somewhat tired, leader of the church. Now his face is contorted in fury, and as he leans forward, Dedue can see the tips of his ears, sharp and pointed-

"Dedue?" Mihail's voice draws Dedue out of his head, and Seteth looks like himself again, if still angry.

"Excuse me," he says. "Felix stabbed me. He used Ingrid's failed attack as an opportunity to do so."

Seteh nods. "I will be sure to deal with that appropriately."

Dedue feels Mihail's hand on his shoulder, and in a brief moment, he takes the hand that Seteth gave moons earlier. "I would like to change houses, if that is alright."

"Of course," Seteth says with a small smile. "I assume you want to do the same, Mr. Vessyl?"

Dedue doesn't need to see Mihail nod. Seteth claps his hand together as he stands up. "Well, I can stall your former housemates for a while longer," he says. "If everything is alright, I suggest that you quickly change into your academy uniforms and join your new houses. If there are any objections, simply let them know to talk to me about it."

"Thank you," the two students say. Seteth nods and walks back into the Blue Lions classroom.

Dedue makes eye contact with Mihail. They sit there for a few moments. Then they bolt to Dedue's room, holding in laughter as they quickly enter and close the door. Dedue pulls out one of his student uniforms and one of Mihail's that he left over since the last time he spent the night.

"So," Mihail says, grabbing his uniform and moving around to the other side of the room. "new houses."

Dedue nods, working on removing the jewelry around his arms and neck. "Right, new houses. I assume you're picking the Golden Deer?"

"Yeah, gotta keep an eye on Claude," Mihail answers, putting aside the steel shoulder guards he had just removed.

Dedue pauses at the weird answer, the jewelry in his hands. "Keep an eye on Claude?" he asks, gently.

"Um, I mean-" Mihail pauses, looking up. Dedue just simply waits, hopefully keeping a non-judgemental air. "I have a few things to work out. With myself, of course. And then there's the whole thing with Lorenz-"

"Oh, so you know about that-"

"Of course I know about it, how do you know about it?"

"Reasons," Dedue answers, starting to unfasten the belt around his waist. "Should I be concerned? Is anyone hurting you?"

"No, it's nothing like that," Mihail assures him, shrugging off the priest robes. "I like Claude and Lorenz, but I don't fully trust them?"

"Are you asking that, or-"

"I don't know? Rius and I were talking about it some time ago, and it's a lot more complicated than I need it to be," Mihail grumbles, sighing as he takes a seat on the bed. Dedue's rid himself of the outer skirt and pauldron when Mihail speaks again. "What house are you going to?"

"Hm, I'm thinking about joining the Black Eagles," Dedue says, unfastening the sandals he wore to battle. "That's fine, right?"

"That's fine," Mihail agrees, buttoning up his shirt. "I was just wondering if we should go to the same house in order to look out for Ingrid and Felix."

Dedue thinks about the idea while he switched his undertunic for his pants. "It is a valid idea," he says, "but I think that as long as we're careful, we don't have to change our plans."

Mihail smiles. "Sure. So, when do you want to check in with each other?"

"At least once a day," Dedue says after some thought. "During one of the mealtimes. I've noticed that the Golden Deer like to steal you around lunch time."

"And the Black Eagles can't seem to go for an early dinner without your presence?" Mihail retorts.

Dedue smiles back at him as they finish changing, straightening out the finer details of their uniforms. "They just want to check the integrity of the food," he says simply. "One of them apparently has an allergy to horribly prepared meals."

Mihail stared at him for a few moments. "That's not true," he says, although he does seem to actually be thinking about it. "Right?"

Dedue shrugs. "How should I know? None of my food is horribly prepared."

* * *

"Excuse me, Seteth said I could join your house right now-"

"You're joining us?!"

"Oh, this will be great! I have been so worried about you since you left."

"Duei! Over here, this spot's open!"

"..."

"Here Ferdinand, you can have my seat."

"Lady Edelgard-"

"Everything will be fine, Hubert. Linhardt is still asleep, so I'll take the spot next to them."

Hanneman coughed loudly to get everyone's attention. "Have you all sorted yourselves out?"

The Black Eagles quickly shuffled themselves around and Dedue took his seat next to Dorothea.

"Good," Hanneman says with a nod. "Thank you for joining us, Dedue. Please feel free to ask for help if you need it. Now, back to the lesson, the introduction of pegasi in battle can be traced to earlier years-"

* * *

On the 23rd day of the month, Dedue is busy eating lunch with the Black Eagles when the topic of the ball comes up.

"Edelgard, Hubert, and I have planned for the entire house to go pick up our outfits for the ball after class this afternoon, Hevring, you should know this!" Ferdinand says excitedly when Linhardt lazily asks him about it.

"They were asleep after they went first, remember?" Caspar asks around some ham.

"Oh, then you haven't heard what I picked to wear! I have the most beautiful red tailcoat-"

"Ferdinand," Hubert interrupts, "your soup is getting cold." Ferdinand gasps and starts actually eating his lunch.

The entire table stares at the interaction for a bit too long before they turn back to their meals. "I don't know about the most beautiful red item," Dorothea says smugly as she twirls her fork. "I have a wonderful magenta dress that should be ready in time, and I know that Edelgard looks rather lovely in red."

The house leader blushed at the compliment. "Thank you, Dorothea," she says, her voice somehow still even. "I'm just glad that we were able to get everybody fitted in time for the ball."

"Yeah," Bernadetta says, sitting in between Dedue and Edelgard, "I think that I'll actually show up for it! If only for a few minutes."

Dedue smiles at the idea of Bernadetta out of her room. "I'm sure you'll look lovely no matter how long you're out of your room," he says.

"Dedue," Petra says, getting his attention, "What are you wearing for the ball?"

"I don't have anything special to wear for the ball, unfortunately," Dedue answers. "I'm probably just going to wear my uniform."

There are two shocked gasps at the table as Ferdinand and Dorothea look horrified. "That's unacceptable!" they shout together, at the same time that a third voice across the dining hall shouts, "We are fixing this today!"

The entire house turns to face the Golden Deer as they stare back at them. Lorenz is standing up in a righteous position, and Mihail has his head in his hands. "I take it that your newest student is also woefully unprepared for the ball?" Lorenz asks.

"We have clothes to wear-"

"Yes," Ferdinand interrupts, "he is. This evening, at the tailor's shop in the village?"

"Of course," Dorothea answers evenly. "We should be quick enough to be back before dinner. What are your thoughts on colors and styles?"

"A bright color would look wonderful," Ferdinand muses. "I would also rely on more cultural influences, as the outfit Dedue wore during the Cup was astounding."

Dedue made eye contact with Mihail as the three of them continued planning out the trip, with little bits of insight added by Hilda and Bernadetta. A gust of wind travels from Mihail's hand and travels outside of the dining hall before it reenters and asks Dedue what is going on. Petra taps Dedue's shoulder and holds out a rock for him to use. Dedue thanks her and engraves the rock with the sentiment that they'll be busy that afternoon. The two of them give each other another tired look, not at all prepared for it.

* * *

Just before the next class starts, Dedue and Bernadetta find time to work in the greenhouse. As Dedue works on caring for one of the communal vegetable plots of land, he feels a familiar set of footsteps behind him and turns to face Ashe. "Greetings."

"Hello," Ashe says, taking a spot next to him. "How have you been?"

"Well," Dedue says, creating a space to plant same seeds. "How have you been?"

"As well as I could be," Ashe answers. "I'm glad you're fine, Seteth wouldn't tell us anything except not to bother you or Mihail. We actually got a strong warning about that."

"I assume that's why you all haven't been on the training grounds recently." Dedue notes.

"That was actually our punishment," Ashe admits. "We don't get to use the training grounds for the week. I, uh"-Ashe rubs the back of his head, and Dedue can catch the nerves in his voice-"I feel like I should warn you that a good number of others in the house are campaigning for you to return. Because you're the dancer."

Dedue lets the idea of Ingrid actually campaigning to be near him plant itself in his mind for a few moments before he starts chuckling. "Of course they are," he says, mostly to himself. "Thank you for warning me."

"No problem," Ashe says, standing up. "It's mostly Dimitri, Felix, and Ingrid. I think the others understand why you left. Uh, Dedue?"

Dedue looks at Ashe and sees a lot of concern on the archer's face. "Please be careful," Ashe says. "I don't know what the three of them are thinking, but I don't think I can trust them anymore-"

"Ashe!"

The archer jumps at Sylvain shouting his name before he actually registers it's the redhead. Dedue looks over Ashe's shoulder to see Sylvain waving at him, a half-smirk on his face. "Hey, Ashe," he starts, waving back. "How is Sylvain doing?"

Ashe thinks about it for a few moments. "He's doing better," he answers. It's a vague one. "He's started avoiding a lot of people though. I think he's only really talking to people who don't have Crests right now, except he has talked to Seteth and Mercedes. I don't know if he's caught onto the fact that I'm keeping an eye on him, but he keeps on going from wanting to stay in my line of sight to actually throwing himself over the stable walls to lose me."

The bell for class rings, and Bernadetta quickly places herself at Dedue's side, timidly waving at Ashe. Dedue sighs and nods at the archer. "Thank you for coming to talk to me, Ashe. I appreciate it."

"Again, it's no problem," Ashe says, starting to back up. "Hopefully I can see you around without In- any trouble!" He runs off before Dedue can ask him about the slip of the tongue. When he puts his tools away and catches up to Bernadetta so they can leave for class together. He notes that the three flowers that represent Dimitri, Felix, and Ingrid are all staring at him with different levels of intensity. He shudders as he can still feel their stares as he leaves the greenhouse.

* * *

During the afternoon class, no one expects Ingrid to walk in and announce that Dedue is requested to rejoin the Blue Lions. She stands tall when Hanneman asks her who gave that request, saying that it was from the Church.

She falters when he requests to see it. As she walks out the door, Dedue sees Petra whisper into a cupped hand, and if there's a speck of gray that flutters after the pegasus knight, none of the students mention it.

* * *

Dedue rejoins the group of students in the courtyard, holding the top he wore at the Cup. "Are we ready?"

Edelgard quickly scanned the crowd before nodding. "All of the Eagles are here," she says assuredly.

Claude claps his hands together three times before shouting, "Golden Deer, count off! One!"

"Two!"

"Must we do this?" Lorenz asks. All of the Golden Deer stare at him. He sighs, visibly fighting back a smile. "Three."

"Four."

"...Five."

"Six!"

"Seven's here!"

"Eight!"

There's a moment of silence before Mihail realizes everyone's staring at him. "Wait, I have to do it too?!"

"You're a member of the Golden Deer, right?" Claude asks, smirking.

"It's solidarity!" Leonie shouts. Ignatz and Raphael nod.

"It's best if you just get it over with," Lorenz warns. "They're rather stubborn." Marianne and Lysithea both nod, but all three of them have small smiles on their faces.

Mihail shrugs his shoulders. "Ten. Can we go now?"

Petra looks confused. "Why did you say ten-"

"Uh, aren't we missing one?" Raphael asks.

"Who are you missing?" Hubert asks in a drawl, obviously bored. "You have eight original students, and Vessyl makes nine, so unless you have an extra student-"

"Sorry we're late!" Cyril shouts as he and Shamir join the group. "I lost track of time helping to clean the statues."

"Ah," Edelgard says, sounding somewhat disappointed, "Church supervisors."

"I'm just here to make sure no one gets hurt," Shamir says in a dry tone. "I trust you all not to embarrass me."

Dedue watches as Cyril seems to blend smoothly into the Golden Deer, standing near Ignatz and Lysithea. Lysithea whispers something in his ear and he shouts something in a foreign language before he blushes and says, "Nine."

Claude claps his hands together. "Now we can go."

Shamir sighs, with a fond tone in it. "Follow me students, we have ground to cover."

* * *

Soon Dedue is being measured as he hears Dorothea, Ferdinand, Lorenz, and Mihail arguing over shades of colors and styles of fabric.

"Why can't the trim just-"

"Ferdie, please shut up and let Mihail explain himself for the fourth time, why don't you?"

"Lorenz, if I see your hand touch that black thread one more time-"

"He's already worn forest green and gold! It would do better if he changed the colors-"

"Those are his family colors _nothus-_ "

Dedue sighs, and the tailor chuckles. "Regret asking your friends to make the choices for you already?"

"Is it that obvious?" Dedue asks.

The tailor nods his head, taking a note on his parchment. "You're not the first person in this situation," he says, winding up his tape measure. "You can step down and tell the other person who needs to be measured to step in."

"Thank you," Dedue says, doing exactly that. When he steps out from behind the curtain, Edelgard lets out a sigh of relief and snatches a color book out of Ferdinand's hand. "Please," she practically begs him, "pick three."

As Mihail disappears behind the curtain, Dedue settles on his two house colors: a forest green and a strong gold, pairing them with a deep blue like the river that passed by the edge of Silvae that he learned to swim in as a kid. While Mihail is getting measured, Dedue takes over the picking of colors, and goes in a similar direction for his close friend: dark green and muted orange for the Vessyl colors, and a deep, dark red that he remembered seeing drape itself over the previous Ambassadors' shoulders.

Thankfully, all three active fashion-forward students agree. They also work with him to blend the Duscis nature of his top into two similar, but different shirts and pants. Ferdinand mutters something about getting shoes to match, and Edelgard and Claude both slam down their coin purses at the same time, staring at each other over the counter. Hubert and Lysithea have their own staredowns from above and below their respective house leader's shoulders.

In the end, they agree to split the cost between them. Dedue chuckles at the whole event. He ends up paying the fee for quick work to stop another argument. Everyone else goes through their final fittings behind the curtains, and as they leave, Dedue notices that Cyril also has a garment bag, carrying it by his side as he talks to Petra and Lysithea.

As they walk, Claude and Hilda start arguing. It's small at first, and then Hilda pulls out a multicolored sash, and Claude seems to instinctively rip it out of her hands. Dedue heard a few gasps when Hilda pulled it out of her bag. As the two start yelling at each other, the group falls silent. Dedue turns to see where Shamir is, and he can see the looks of disgust that the rest of the Golden Deer, Petra, Mihail, and Shamir are sending at the two arguing. Hilda says something about savages, and Claude yells at her to grow up and respect others before stomping ahead.

Dedue catches up to Mihail as the rest of the group start following at a quicker pace. "What happened?" he asks, voice low.

"Apparently, Hilda and her family have been taking Almyran sashes," Mihail answers, and from what little Dedue knows about Almyra, he does know that taking an Almyran's sash is one of the worst things you could do. "Claude found out a few moons ago and warned her to return them to the proper families, but she obviously didn't do it."

"And the rest of the Golden Deer know about how important those sashes are because of how close they are with Cyril," Dedue reasons.

Mihail nods. "They honestly adore him. He tried to give up the 'nine' spot to me and the house nearly rioted."

Dedue looks over at Cyril, who is still in between the two youngest Academy students. Cyril looks back at him and Dedue nods, hoping that Cyril understands that he stands with him.

Cyril nods back.

* * *

The final fittings go well. Dedue appreciates the work of the gold thread as it seems to glide across the dark blue formal shirt in a very Duscis-reminiscent style. It goes well with the dark green pants. Everything is well fitted with no wrinkles, and even the matching blue shoes fit well.

"If you don't have any dress socks, it's perfectly fine to just slide those on without any," the tailor tells him.

Dedue nods. "Thank you for your work."

"It's nothing. If you would like to change into your normal clothes so I can put this in a bag for you-"

As they leave the store, both him and Mihail comfortable with their new clothes, Dedue is surprised that no one is asking them about how it looks.

Ferdinand gasps when he brings it up. "Oh, we would not even dream of stealing the moment of walking into a ball and commanding the attention of the people like that!" he cries, and Dedue remembers the noble's passion about these matters is rivaled only by Dorothea and Lorenz, both of whom are nodding in agreement.

"Thank you?"

"Oh, please don't thank us for it, Duei," Dorothea says, casually waving his words away, "it's basic decency! Only a rude person would demand to be thanked for treating others correctly."

* * *

Classes are cut short for the Ball on the 25th day of the Ethereal Moon. Dedue watches as Dorothea rounds up the other girls of the Black Eagle and marches them towards her room for early preparations. Hubert follows them because of his loyalty to Edelgard, Ferdinand follows him because of his potential crush, and soon Caspar and Dedue are both carrying Linhardt as they follow the rest of the house just because. "Is this a usual thing?" Dedue asks after making sure that the priest is comfortably secured. "Just following the entire house?"

"We're kinda nosy," Caspar admits, his voice still somewhat loud. It was a miracle that Linhardt could still be asleep.

"It's not nosy," Hubert hisses, knocking on the door to Dorothea's room. "I am just honor-bound to keep an eye on Lady Edelgard."

The door swung open to reveal an angered Dorothea holding a makeup brush. "Whatever it is you like to call it, please keep it down," she says, pointing the end of the brush at Hubert's face. "I need peace to do my makeup, and I bet the entire monastery can hear you."

"That's not necessarily true-"

"Oh you know it is-"

"Shouldn't you all also be getting ready for the ball?" Petra asks.

There's a brief moment of silence amongst the men as they all look at each other. Ferdinand looks like he's torn between being vindicated and being sick.

Mercedes, Annette, and Ashe join them. "Are you alright, Ferdinand?" Mercedes asks, looking at the noble with concern.

Ferdinand shakes his head. "Lorenz is going to kill me for not showing up to a pre-ball teatime," he laments, already starting to leave. "I must bid you all goodbye!"

Everyone is quiet for a few moments before Ashe speaks. "Lorenz wouldn't actually kill him, right?"

Annette shrugs. "Maybe. When he was at the Kingdom Academy, he once set another student on fire for disrespecting his work."

"As he should've," Dorothea says, clapping her hands together, "Now, I need to get back to work, and you all also need to get ready for the ball. If you want entrance to my room, the payment should be made in snacks." She closes the door behind her after her announcement, slamming it loud enough to wake up Linhardt.

* * *

While Dedue is combing through his hair, he hears a knock on the door to his room. "Come in."

The door creaks open, and as Dedue senses near perfectly measured footsteps through the floor, he also sees Dimitri's reflection carrying a garment bag in his hands. "Hello, Dedue."

"Hello, Dimitri," Dedue answers, pulling his hair up behind him to tie it up. "How are you doing?"

"I'm well, thanks for asking," Dimitri says. "I just wanted to make sure you got the clothes I had made for you to wear for the ball in time."

Dedue finishes tying the ribbon before he points to the garment bag already on his bed. "I already have what I intend to wear tonight," he says gently, turning around to face the prince. "Thank you though."

"You're welcome," Dimitri responds, before he shakes his head. "Ah, if you don't forgive my prying, when did you receive these clothes?"

"Yesterday," Dedue answers calmly, staying seated. "The Black Eagles took me to the tailor's and ordered it on priority."

Dimitri hummed, awkwardly setting down the blue-grey bag next to the simple black one. "Well, if those clothes don't fit, here's an extra set for you. Would you like to share a dance with me at the ball?"

Dedue can tell by how Dimitri is holding himself with clasped hands, forced posture, and a voice with light tremors that this is seemingly a very important request. "Of course," he answers, standing up and nodding. "Please try and find me when you want a dance."

"Of course," Dimitri says, shoulders less tense now. "I'll leave to let you fully prepare for the ball. Have a nice night."

"You too, Dimitri."

After Dimitri leaves, Dedue picks up the garment bag he left behind, intending to put it away. It opens up slightly, and Dedue spots light blues, dark greys, and a meticulously stitched Crest of Blaiddyd on the shirt pocket.

* * *

When the ceremonial bell rings to let everyone know that the reception hall is open, Dedue double checks himself in the mirror quickly before putting on his shoes and leaving his room. As he closes and locks the door, he hears Ashe doing the same. He turns and makes eye contact with his friend, and they share a smile.

"Wow," Ashe says, amazed by Dedue's clothing. "You look really nice."

"Thank you," Dedue says, taking a few moments to fully take in all of the details of what Ashe was wearing. It seemed to be a fancier version of the regular uniform, with the golds and black placed with a more formal touch and dressed up with a half cape that reached from arm to arm. "You look amazing as well," he says truthfully. "Gold brings out your eyes."

"Thanks," Ashe says, rubbing the back of his neck. "I, uh, I like the thread work on your shirt. Is there a reason there's no collar?"

"Duscis clothing doesn't have the same kind of folded collar that shirts here do," Dedue says simply, calmly smoothing out the _indusium_ inspired shirt. "It's easier to just trim the fabric correctly and let it sit there."

"Huh," Ashe hums, face suddenly red. "Are you cold?"

"No, but if you are, we should probably start heading towards the reception hall so you can warm up," Dedue says, casually pointing down to hallway as Hilda walks down the stairs in a fashionable pink dress. Ashe chuckles a bit before he starts walking, and Dedue walks alongside him, the two of them passing Hilda as she yells up the stairs for Marianne to hurry up.

Soon, they've entered the reception hall, and it seems as though it has been transformed even more since the White Heron Cup. Dedue's eyes are taken away from the many streamers and decorations as Dorothea strides towards him and Ashe, arms outstretched for a hug, showing off the draping ribbons attached to her sleeves. "Duei! You look amazing! Oh, and Ashe you look so adorable!" she says, as she hugs them both.

Ashe's face gets even more red as he looks at her, and Dedue nearly asks him what's wrong before he makes an excuse and dashes off towards the punch bowl. Dorothea shakes her head and sighs. "Poor kid," she laments, and something in her tone seems off to Dedue. "I wonder if this is his first formal event out of the Kingdom."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Dedue asks, probably more harshly than he should have.

"Nothing bad, I promise," Dorothea says, crossing her heart. "It's just that, well, I hate to be a gossip-"

"You've talked about a throat injury and members of an ensemble receiving bruises-"

"But I've heard that a lot of Faerghus balls were-" Dorothea pauses, humming to herself. Overly modest, to put it nicely."

Dedue nods. "I would say the same, but I still don't see what this has to do with Ashe."

"Well, from what I know about the Kingdom, they tend to stick towards stuffier models of dress, especially for women," Dorothea explains. "Tell me, Duei, do you think that this dress would work in a Kingdom ball?"

Dedue looks over the dress and knows from the first glance it wouldn't have fit in at a ball. The color is too noticeable of a red, the shape is too flattering, and the cut of the neck shows a fair amount of collarbone.

"I wouldn't think so," Dedue says casually, making eye contact with Dorothea again.

"Exactly," Dorothea says, snapping her fingers together. "Why, I think that the only even somewhat indecent thing in public that Ashe has seen is Sylvain's collarbones."

Dedue feels his face betray his befuddlement. "So you think that Ashe is flustered over your collarbones?" he asks, not truly believing that she's being serious about this. "What if he's just sick?"

"He's already been treated for every illness under the sun," Dorothea states, looking at her nails. "It was the first thing he did when he arrived at the monastery."

"How do you know this?"

"Sometimes, Manuela doesn't lock up the infirmary behind her before she goes out drinking," Dorothea says with a sad smile. "She's actually been getting better about not drinking as much, but I still like to make sure everything's in place before I lock it myself. That gives me a lot of time to look for embarrassing injuries in the medical records."

Dedue raises an eyebrow. "Isn't that illegal?"

Dorothea bats her eyelashes. Her eyes tell him to keep it quiet. "Isn't what illegal?"

"Nothing," Dedue sighs, dropping the side topic. "But if he isn't sick-"

"Then he's absolutely getting flustered over my collarbones," Dorothea states bluntly, and for some reason that puts a stone in Dedue's stomach. "And probably also over the collarbones of a good number of people here, including you."

Dedue felt his face heat up. "Me? Why me? Sure, the _indusium_ is cut a bit low, but I'm not that-"

"Haha, no," Dorothea cut him off, holding out her arm. He took it and she started guiding them to the punch bowl. "Dedue, my dearest friend. My second confidant, if you will. Do you remember what I said before about how handsome you are?"

Dedue nods, wondering where she was going with this.

They stop just before they reach the punch bowl. Dorothea smirks. "Do a quick sweep of the room for me?"

Dedue rolls his eyes before he starts looking around the room-

Wow. He's amazed at the amount of people he catches looking at him, and not all of them are negative. There are a few instances where some girls blush and cover their faces as he glances past them, and he makes eye contact with Sylvain as the redhead enters the reception hall.

Sylvain waves as he walks over. "Hey, you two look good," he says, brushing imaginary dirt off of his black vest. "Care to add a third hottie to the bunch?"

Dorothea sighs as she looks him over. Dedue notices the amount of redness in Sylvain's eyes. "Do you have those weird, darker glasses on you?" Dorothea asks.

"I got a pair of sunglasses from an Almyran merchant earlier in the year," Sylvain says at Dedue's raised eyebrow. "Makes me look cool-"

"It'll make you look more put together"-Dorothea cuts in as kindly as she can-"Your eyes look as red as your shirt."

"Ah," Sylvain fishes out the eyewear and puts them on, the tinted glass helping to cover the visual abnormality. "Thanks, Dorothea."

"No problem," Dorothea says confidently, although the twitch of her arm betrays her. "Take care of yourself, Sylvain. If you two don't mind, I'm going to go make sure no one is spiking the punch with something too strong."

The two men are silent as Dorothea walks away, joining Edelgard and Hubert at the punch bowl. "So," Sylvain starts, the usual bravado in his body language smaller now, "how has it been being an Eagle?"

"It's been nice," Dedue says casually, watching as Marianne and Hilda walk through the door. Marianne looks somewhat uncomfortable, and Dedue sees Linhardt roll out from under a table and approach the two. "I do miss a few of you in the Blue Lions."

"Oh, you can't possibly-" Sylvain coughs. "I mean, that's nice to hear. We missed you too. Although," Sylvains voice lowers here, as if he's afraid to be overheard. "Most of us understand why you and Mihail ran. Heh, sometimes I feel like running from it all."

"Why don't you?" Dedue asks.

Sylvain shrugs. "Wouldn't be fair to other people. You don't mind if I let a little personal thing drop here, for some advice?"

Dedue looks over at the table full of snacks and his stomach rumbles. "Let's grab some food first," he says. Sylvain gives him a small smile and the two walk over two the long table, taking plates and grabbing small amounts of different finger foods. When they take a seat at a nearby table, Dedue takes a few small bites out of a sandwich before he looks across the table. "So, what were you going to tell me?"

"Uh, well one of the people I apologized to didn't accept my apology at first," Sylvain says sheepishly. "She didn't have to, I looked through some of her writing that was deeply personal, and I shouldn't have, but I couldn't figure out why she wouldn't accept it for the longest time."

"Did you ever figure it out?" Dedue asks, naturally curious.

"No," Sylvain admits as he fails at rolling a grape across his knuckles, "but she told me a few days later when she actually accepted it. It was along the lines of how I've actually been trying to do better, even if I'm not always successful at it."

Dedue nods, remembering moments back in Duscur where he saw the same kind of repentance. "You have been less of a philanderer lately," he remarks.

Sylvain smiled as he held up a glass of water like he was about to give a toast to himself. "I have good intentions now! Er, better intentions at least?"

"Whichever works for you," Dedue reasons.

Sylvain opens his mouth to respond, but Lady Rhea's voice interrupts him as it resonates through the hall. "To everyone at the Garreg Mach Monastery: staff, student, teacher, priest, and practitioner, I would like to call an official start to the Garreg Mach Establishment Day Ball by asking the house leaders and their seconds to have the first dances on the floor!"

Dedue sees Edelgard and Hubert comfortably walk out onto the dance floor before he makes eye contact with Dimitri, who's dressed in a more regal version of the clothes he gave Dedue earlier. Dedue tells Sylvain goodbye as he stands up from the table and meets the prince halfway on the dance floor. Dimitri holds out his hands and Dedue takes it, allowing himself to be led around in a simple waltz. "So," Dimitri says, voice low to keep their conversation private, "I see that the clothes you picked fit you."

"Of course they-" A small shriek cuts Dedue off and out of the corner of his eye he can see Claude leading Lorenz to the floor, a fuming Hilda glaring at them. He refocuses on Dimitri. "Of course they fit," he says, voice just as low. "The tailor in the village outside the gates does wonderful work."

"Ah," Dimitri says as they start to travel along the outskirts of the dance floor. "I see. Maybe I should have asked him for his work instead of the royal tailors back in Faerghus."

"Perhaps you should have," Dedue off-handedly remarks, aware that if anyone heard this conversation, it could easily be seen as disrespectful. "Why didn't you tell me you were getting me clothes for the ball?"

Dimitri's face gains a slight amount of red. "I- uh- I thought you wouldn't have wanted me to."

"But you didn't even ask?" Dedue says, working to keep his face blank as they passed by a watchful Ingrid and Felix. "I was fully planning on wearing my regular uniform to the ball before Dorothea and Ferdinand led the charge to get me these clothes."

"Right." Dimitri's eyes dart down and scan what Dedue's wearing for a brief second before they're back up. "Those clothes."

"Is there something wrong with them?" Dedue asks, calmly matching Dimitri's turn.

"I- uh-" Dimitri stammers out before he can actually answer. "It's nothing against you, I promise, but as the future King of Faerghus, it might have been better for my vassal to wear a more Faerghan-styled attire."

Dedue is quiet for a few moments as the band continues to play, and they continue to dance. He knows that the song is somewhat close to ending. "I would hope that as King," he starts, "your subjects could see you being friendly with a man of Duscur like myself and see an opportunity for change."

"It's not that difficult-"

"Is this why you asked me for a dance earlier?" Dedue asks, cutting off the prince. "To see if I wore your clothes?"

"No, not that," Dimitri says, with a minute shake of his head. "The dance between a house leader and their vassal always happens. I just wanted to let you know that you are rejoining the Blue Lion House after tonight."

Although he's dancing, it feels like Dedue's blood has turned to stone. "Excuse me?"

"The professor and I have spoken with Lady Rhea," Dimitri says, "and she agreed that since you won the White Heron Cup as a Blue Lion, it wouldn't make sense to remove you from the house, as the other houses didn't win."

The food in Dedue's stomach feels like a boulder. "And no one asked me for my opinion?" he asks, hearing the song start to wind down.

"I told Lady Rhea I would talk to you about it before you re-joined the house," Dimitri says. "No one else knows about this but me and the professor-"

"Dimitri," Dedue says, now seriously working to keep his voice down, "what about my safety?"

"You will be fine," Dimitri says. "I've had serious talks with Ingrid and Felix, and if there's anyone else I need to have a serious talk with, I will. I will protect you as best as I can, if you allow me to. But I can't work on healing the wounds between our countries alone, Dedue. I need your help."

Dedue nearly says that Dimitri needs him to dance and put himself in harm's way to protect other's fragile egos. Dedue nearly says that there are no wounds between their countries, because all of the wounds were inflicted on Duscur by the Kingdom. Dedue nearly says that Dimitri could do a lot of work alone with his power as King, without him, as he's just a simple son of a blacksmithing family from Silvae. But from Dimtri's tone of voice and body language, it seems that he believes he's in the right, and if there's one thing about Dimitri that Dedue knows, it's that he is stubbornly aligned with his own ideas and ideals.

Dedue isn't sure if he can trust the man to think about his safety. That's been true for the longest time. It's also true that Dedue doesn't fully know where he stands with Dimitri. A friend would listen to him, maybe try their hardest not to throw him to the Lions. A vassal would follow their prince anywhere, follow whatever task that the prince set for them.

For the first time, Dedue wonders if the life debt he took during the Murder has put him into a position that is impossible for him to pay back. He catches glances of the other house leaders as they dance. Edelgard has on a lovely dark red suit, black shoes with a golden bottom that flashes as she steps across the dance floor complete the look. Hubert lets her guide him with ease, as if he trusts her with his life, because he truly does. His own black suit, a more formal version of his flowy and voluminous uniform, is only broken up by the faintest hints of bright red, the biggest amount of red on the soles of his own shoes. Claude, Khalid, whoever he is, is wearing a warm yellow shirt with black pants, a sash tied around his waist that blends together green, yellow, white, and black in a fashion that reminds Dedue of the design around the edges of Lorenz's letter and the letterhead for the Almyran prince. Lorenz seems to work with him as they dance across the floor, dressed in a purple suit with a more Dagdan styled collar, upright against his throat instead of folded out and away from it.

Dimitri wanted Dedue to wear more Faerghan clothing, to not represent himself in his company. Dedue just proved that he can't trust Dimitri like Hubert can trust Edelgard, like Lorenz trusts Claude. Dimitri doesn't listen to him as well as Edelgard listens to Hubert, as Claude listens to Lorenz, as the other two house leaders listen to him, and he's only joined the Black Eagles less than a week ago.

"Dedue?" Dimitri asks.

Dedue simply nods, saying, "Of course, Your Highness. I will help you however I can while staying safe."

He bows when the music stops and people start clapping. He says a simple thanks to Dimitri and walks away from the prince to the edges of the dance floor.

The rest ball passes in a blur. Dedue remembers seeing Dorothea laugh as she danced with Edelgard, Hubert and Ferdinand dancing with each other, money exchanging between Black Eagle hands, Cyril and Lysithea, dressed in earthy browns and mystical purples as they jokingly danced in a corner. Petra and Caspar had an arm-wrestling tournament. He himself dances with Annette and Mercedes for a bit. He sees Ashe and Sylvain looking at him with concern, and suddenly he's outside the reception hall, staring up at the night sky and hearing Sylvain tell Ashe that he'll cover for them.

He jerks away from the feeling of hands on his face, and when he actually processes what's happening, Ashe is simply hugging him, head buried in his shoulder. Slowly, but somewhat surely, Dedue feels his heart even itself out, slowing down from it's titanic pace. "Thank you."

"It's fine," Ashe says, still not moving from where he currently was. "Sylvain found me and told me that you seemed a bit off. Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not here," Dedue says shaking his head. "As far away from here as possible."

There's a small silence before Ashe looks up at Dedue and nods. "Got it. Care to walk with me?"

For a brief moment, Dedue is reminded of a younger Dimitri, just after getting in between him and the knights, asking if Dedue would like to join him. Then he shakes his head in a futile attempt to clear it. Ashe isn't Dimitri. "Sure," he says, standing up and wiping dirt off of his pants. "Lead the way."

And Ashe does. With well practiced footsteps and experience travelling under the few lights of night, Dedue amateurly follows him when he ducks through the cathedral, guiding them up to the top of the Goddess Tower. "Sorry about the climb," Ashe says, slightly panting. "I didn't want to bring any attention to Abyss. And if everyone is trying to sneak up here, it won't be seen as too suspicious if we're here."

"I thought that only couples snuck up here," Dedue says on reflex, remembering Alois laughing about it.

Ashe's face goes red, barely visible in the moonlight. "We would know the truth about it all, right?"" he asks, voice low.

Dedue nods. "I suppose," he admits, his own face hot for some reason. "Thank you."

"It's no issue, how are you doing?"

"..."

Ashe sighs. "That's fair. What happened?"

"Dimitri told me that I'll be returning to the Blue Lions tomorrow," Dedue says, leaning back against the wall, facing away from Ashe.

"What?" Ashe's voice cracks as he nearly shouts. "How? You've been happy with the Black Eagles so far, right?"

"I have," Dedue admits, focusing on the stone of the tower around him.

"How are you being forced to come back?"

"Apparently Dimitri and the professor went to Lady Rhea. I'm the fourth person to know."

"That's so-" Ashe's voice suddenly sounds muffled, as if it's underground. Or maybe he's underground now. The feeling of stone in ihs veins returns, and Dedue just looks down at the stone that he's sitting on, watching it become more and more wet for some reason- "Dedue?"

"Ye-" Dedue startles himself when he realizes he's crying. The dam, the brick walls, they all break and suddenly the world is wet and distorted through tears as he sobs, Ashe placing an emphatic hand on his shoulder. It takes some time for all the emotions to work their way through him, and Dedue rubs his eye with the black and gold fabric Ashe hands him. "Yes?"

Ashe tries to make eye contact with him. "Are you okay?"

Dedue avoids it, not really wanting such a direct connection. "I'm scared, Ashe."

Ashe simply nods. Dedue wonders if he's already felt a fear this deep. "Okay. I promise I'll do my best to keep you safe."

Dedue's heart stops. "Ashe, you don't have to-"

"I know, but I want to," Ashe says, and the look on his face leaves no room for discussion. "Just- just promise me that you'll let me help you."

Dedue thinks about it for a while. Ashe himself has so much to think about, between Lonato's past proposals, his siblings, the state of Castle Gaspard- "I'll make a promise with you to help each other as much as we can," he states, looking at Ashe.

Ashe's smile seems brighter in the moonlight. "I can agree to that. Pinky promise?"

Dedue chuckles as he holds out his pinky. "I heard that this started out amongst thieves."

Ashe shrugs as he connects it, completing the promise. "I don't think it's fair to harshly judge someone for doing what they need to survive."

The two of them sit there for a while. Ashe's hand finds itself in Dedue's. Dedue looks down and realizes that Ashe handed over his cape to be used as a napkin. Ashe tells him that it's fine, he wasn't going to wear it again.

They leave when they hear Claude, Mihail, and Lorenz approach the tower, sneaking past them as the three jokingly bicker about going up to the top of it.

* * *

When Dedue enters the Blue Lions classroom, he notices that the room is charged with tension, like a branch just about to snap as it bends. Ashe, Annette, and Mercedes wave and smile at him, but as they beckon for him to take a seat with them, he notices that they're set up in such a way to keep him apart from Dimitri, Ingrid, Felix, and Byleth.

"Ashe let us know what was going on this morning," Annette whispers as he takes a seat. "Sylvain went to go tell Mihail."

Dedue just simply nods, unaware if the lump in his throat was nerves, gratitude, or nausea.

"We'll get you out of here as soon as possible," Mercedes promises. "Until then, we can work to keep the others from harming you-"

"Dedue," Dimitri says warmly. Dedue feels a heavy weight and glances at Dimtiri's hand on his shoulder. "I'm glad you're back. Would you mind joining me up at the front where you usually sit?"

"I'd rather not," Dedue mutters. He feels Dimitri's hand reflexively squeeze, and for an instant there are a terrifying amount of stories recounting the inherited Blaiddyd strength that pops through Dedue's head.

"Ah," Dimtiri says, and he sounds disappointed. Dedue refuses to look at him. "Well, I hope that we are able to talk soon." He walked away, oblivious to the glares that the other three students were giving him.

The classroom door opens again, and Mihail announces that he's rejoining the Blue Lions before he and Sylvain find seats near their group. Byleth blinks before they bring the class to order.

* * *

The Black Eagles storm the classroom 5 minutes into the lecture, demanding to know why Dedue is back with the Blue Lions. Dimitri tries to say that Lady Rhea thought it was in everyone's best interest, and Sylvain cheekily cuts in and tells everybody what the prince and the professor did.

The only reason that the continuous arguments and yelling stop is when Jeralt enters the classroom to quickly grab the Blue Lions for another impromptu rescue mission.

* * *

When they finish fighting the monsters, everyone is busy gathering their things and checking over past wounds. Sadly, this puts everyone in the perfect position to watch Byleth lash out with the Sword of the Creator before a stranger appears and blocks it. The stranger teleports themself and Monica away, and there are gasps and shrieks as everyone sees Jeralt collapse to the ground.

As extra strange people appear in the treelines, Byleth seems to be inhuman as they grab their father's body and yell for everyone to move quickly, riding out as fast as they can. Dedue keeps a close eye and an even closer guard on Mihail after he sees the eyes of the stranger who blocked Byleth linger on him.

It almost feels like they get out too easily.

* * *

There is a small service in Jeralt's honor. It is a quiet affair. No one is able to ask questions about what they've seen.

* * *

The same night as the service, Dedue and Mihail in Mihail's room, simply talking when there's a knock on the door. When Mihail says it's fine to come in, Byleth enters the room. Dedue tenses immediately at the sight of the professor even before he notices the scowl on their face. "Why?" they ask in a tired voice.

Dedue and Mihail glance at each other before Mihail responds. "Why what?"

"Why wasn't it different this time?"

Dedue notices how the mercenary's eyes narrow and focus on Mihail.

"What?"

"Every other time, things have played out the same," Byleth says, and Dedue wonders if this is the grief from losing Jeralt manifesting in a rather horrendous way. "I would lead a house, we would get the same missions, and every Ethereal Moon, my dad dies. But now you're here," the state, glaring at Mihail. "You're the only thing different here. And you've changed so much. Flayn left the class, there's suddenly a training bout competition, Remire Village plays out differently, Dedue leaves the Blue Lions, and there's so much more. So tell me why my dad is still dead, Macuil."

There's a calm rage in Byleth's voice as they're speaking, and Dedue notices how their hand reaches for the sword at their side. On instinct, Dedue leaps forward to get in between them and Mihail. "Professor-"

"No!" Byleth shouts, pulling out the blade and actually revealing that it's a dagger. There is a little bit of magic swirling in their offhand, and they brandish it at him. For a brief moment, Dedue laments the fact that the rooms are soundproof from the inside, just so that anyone else could hear them and come help. "I deserve answers! I deserve-"

A magical breeze hits Byleth, extinguishing the magic. As the professor is startled, Dedue takes the window of opportunity to quickly punch them twice, only working to knock out the professor. A second breeze catches Byleth as they pass out, leaving them on the ground.

Dedue turns to face Mihail, both of them barely breathing, as if they'd wake the mercenary up again. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Mihail answers quickly. "How about you?"

"I'm good," Dedue answers, looking back down at the scene in front of him. Byleth's body was surrounded by scattered papers and other obvious signs of a fight. "We can't stay here anymore."

"Right," Mihail agrees, nodding. "I can pack quickly, and I don't think Byleth will be awake anytime soon. Should I meet you in your room? Before we go to Abyss?"

Dedue sighs. "Move quickly," he says, finalizing their intent to leave. "Pack what you can."

"You too. Don't let anyone else know about this," Mihail says, grabbing a bag and moving to his drawers. Dedue walks out of Mihail's room and makes his way downstairs thankful that no one else seems to be outside their rooms right now.

Dedue packs nearly every item of clothing he can still wear: his student uniform, his fighter kit, his brawler kit, both of the dancing outfits, and the outfit that he himself got at the tailor's. He doesn't even think about taking the clothes with the Blaiddyd Crest. He packs the smallest gauntlets that he has: the training ones and the killer knuckles, wrapping them in fabric. He opens up the small bricked space that Hapi called out a while ago, grabbing all of the gold he had saved there from his time as a cook for the church.

Soon, he has three bags full, and when there's a knock on the door, he isn't surprised to see that it's Mihail with two bags of his own. "No one's outside," Mihail says, shouldering a bag. "Ready to go?"

Dedue nods, and in practically no time, the two of them enter the illusory hole in the wall, leaving the monastery behind them for good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is: a story version of "War for the Weak"! In this, the goal changes to defend the Duscis refugees instead of brutalizing them. Even that small change is so much better to me and I'm glad I was able to do it.
> 
> Dedue as a dancer: not really dancing, but definitely revitalizing his allies through his efforts, like throwing them up in the air, per se.
> 
> Honestly, writing Fire Emblem action in real time is a fun creative challenge, because you get to describe how different characters do different combat arts and cast different spells and move- it's great.
> 
> Felix and Ingrid are the enemy generals for this paralogue. Sylvain is your ally. We are fracturing the Faerghus four.
> 
> Dimitri and Icarin talk about responsibility and those in power. It's a start towards Dimitri's actual arc.
> 
> Felix's demonic tongue strikes again, and Ingrid's awkward hubris makes it worse.
> 
> Seteth lays down the law. We learn more about Sylvain and Mercedes. And the greatest thing of all: Dedue leaves the Blue Lions! *pops open the sparkling cider*
> 
> Garreg Mach Establishment Day Ball Preparations. The three stylish students will be dead before they allow Dedue and Mihail to not have anything fashionable for it.
> 
> Keeping Up With the Blue Lions.
> 
> Going to the tailor's shop and dealing with too many fashion people on the runway. (In all honesty, I'm probably gonna edit this scene to flow better.) feat. Cyril and Khalid poking through Claude's facade to tell Hilda to grow up.
> 
> Black Eagles nonsense. I love a group of more militant like kids growing together and becoming more of a found family.
> 
> Dimitri and Dedue awkwardly talking before the ball. I've never written dialogue so awkward on purpose before, so I hope it's not too painful. Or maybe it should be?
> 
> Ashe! Love that sweet thief. Good kid. The evening wear uniform is great, but I didn't get any DLC because I am poor. Again, Dedue's clothes have a strong Black influence, this time balancing between dashikis and the "Morehouse Man" look, where some students of the illustrious Morehouse College (where I go to, haha) are known to have at least two suits and wear them at least once a week.
> 
> Dorothea gossiping and Sylvain constantly lamenting are two fun things to write that just seem to fit, y'know? Little details of what other students are wearing should definitely be the norm at such a fancy event.
> 
> I am a sucker for serious conversations while dancing, and I think that this definitely influenced this chapter. Although Dimitri means well, the fact that he isn't discussing this with Dedue, not getting his opinion and ultimately not listening to his concerns is a direct callout of "allies" who do the same: ultimately just grifting for social clout or monetary gain. Of course, Dedue is talking to a prince, and so the real politic just screws him over.
> 
> You know that feeling you get when you receive bad news during a fun event, and the fun of the event suddenly seems to get everyone but you? Like, you suddenly become an outsider to the joy that everyone else feels, and time skips for you because it doesn't allow you to try and stop and smell the roses with a stuffy nose?
> 
> The Goddess Tower scene, and Ashe and Dedue probably hitting their A+ support here. Have fun thinking about how many different things I was thinking about while writing this out, because it was a lot and I'm still only somewhat satisfied with it.
> 
> The lines are drawn in the sand, and Byleth has no idea how to deal with it.
> 
> Byleth gives me my get out of jail free card if anyone tries to say that a minor detail is off: This is a timeline that Byleth has never experienced, and so who's to say what is actually capable of happening here? Ngl here, I was kind of worried about getting slapped with the ultimate "character is ooc" complaint until I wrote this line, and then I realized that no, nothing is out of character until it breaks the character I've already written. That's a huge emotional and creative weight lifted.
> 
> And then, they flee. And we end the second arc: White Clouds. Hope you enjoyed it.

**Author's Note:**

> Alright:
> 
> Dedue is starting to build up his stoic personality that we see in game. He just had to deal with his home and family being attacked, being brought away from Duscur, and being treated harshly by others. So, when reaching out is met with half-measures and hostility, he's gonna start to look at Faerghus with a hidden side-eye. He can't be open about what he actually wants to say, so he has to excercise some restraint and build some sort of rapport with those who will let him. 
> 
> Also, I 100% think that people would mispronounce Dedue's name and also think he dumbed it down for them. However, in this fic, he hasn't. So it's De-dway. (Which goes into the minor point that Duscis is Latin. So I hope you know your non-english vowels and remember that c and g are always their harder sounds.)
> 
> Dimitri means well, but he really can't do much about it thanks to his position in Faerghus culture. This will be explored throughout the fic.
> 
> Sylvain is probably the least harmful offender, but he is an offender nonetheless. Again, just laying the groundwork.
> 
> Felix is just aloof and standoffish. He heats up later.
> 
> Ingrid is probably going to be openly and subtly antagonistic throughout this whole fic. She may grow to be (slightly) civil, but since no one will call her out and make her learn, she won't. And she sure as hell won't respect Dedue's name.
> 
> Adrista and Mihail are some of Dedue's childhood friends, with Adrista being a few weeks older and Mihail one year younger. In total, there was a squad of 6. The other three get mentioned later in the fic.

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